Turkey’s Mission Impossible: War and Peace with the Kurds

When Turkey moved into the modern era as a nation-state, it brought with it the denial of Kurdish identity. This denial created a seemingly intractable “Kurdish question” that has been marked by numerous revolts and decades of insurgency.

In his new book Cengiz Çandar - journalist, former presidential advisor and public intellectual – blends a historical account of the Kurdish question in Turkey with his own experiences and insights into the politicians and fighters involved. Paying close attention to the repeatedly failing peace processes, Turkey’s Mission Impossible challenges conventional views on Turkey and provides a nuanced picture of how we arrived at now.

This event was co-hosted by Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies  (SUITS) and the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI).

Cengiz Çandar is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the SUITS, and Senior Associate Fellow at UI's Middle East and North Africa Programme

Bitte Hammargren is an independent and self-employed writer, analyst and consultant on issues related to Turkey, North Africa and West Asia, i.e. the MENA region, and a Senior Associate Fellow at UI's Middle East and North Africa Programme