Preventing Conflict Over Kurdistan

By Henri Barkey ( Carnegie Report, February 2009 )



The invasion of Iraq has surfaced long-suppressed nationalist aspirations among the Kurds, most notably the emergence of the federal Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). If ignored or mishandled, Kurdish aspirations have the potential to ignite violence and instability in Iraq, as well as the region, at a particularly delicate time, a new report by the Carnegie Endowment concludes. Henri Barkey calls for renewed attention to the Kurdish issue to prevent conflict and prescribes a fresh U.S. approach. The United States must move quickly—as American forces withdraw from Iraq, U.S. influence in the region will wane.


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Turkey’s Kurds A theoretical analysis of the PKK and Abdullah Öcalan

By Ali Kemal Özcan



The Kurdish Worker's Party, or PKK, is examined here in this text on Kurdish nationalism. Incorporating recent field-based research results and newly translated material on Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's long-time leader; it explores the ideational nature and the organizational working of the party, from its growth in the late 1970s to its recent shrinkage. A variety of issues are addressed including:

* The views and philosophy of Abdullah Ocalan
* The successes and failures of the PKK in bringing about the Kurdish opposition in Turkey
* The role of PKK's philosophy of recruitment, organizational diligence, use of arms and other contextual factors in Kurdish resistance
* Factors involved in the development of the nationalism of the Kurds in Turkey.

The text also reappraises the Kurdish movement in Turkey and presents insights into the nature of Kurdish social structure and thinking, and the particularities of the Kurdish ethnic distinctness.

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The Invisible War in North Kurdistan

by Kristiina Koivunen



Born in June 9th 1959 in Finland, Dr. Kristiina Koivunen is one of the independent foreign scholars exploring the history of Kurdistan and depicted what they have experienced in all parts of Kurdistan particularly in the Kurdistan of Turkey.

Koivunen has written so far four books about the political conditions of the Kurdistan in the light of history: three in Finnish and one in English titled “The Invisible War in North Kurdistan” which is her PHD thesis besides several other books in the field of politics and sociology. She currently engages in writing one book more about the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The Invisible War in North Kurdistan narrates the story of the deportation campaign in Kurdistan of Turkey against the Kurdish villagers during 1990s. As she said, nowadays the Kurdish movements are developing very quickly and the media channels can contribute to further developing those movements.

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