İsmail Beşikci speaks at the Buffett Institute at Northwestern University, November 2018. Courtesy of The Northwestern University Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and photographer Michael Bacos. MER Article Tracing the Conceptual Genealogy of Kurdistan as International Colony İsmail Beşikci is the first social scientist in modern Turkey to analyze the oppression of Kurds, distributed across four nation states, through the concept of the “international colony.” In recent years, Beşikci has been celebrated among his peers and a younger generation of intellectuals in Turkey and beyond, who increasingly Deniz Duruiz • 13 min read
A boy rides a bicycle with the flag of Kurdistan in Tuz Khurmato, Iraq, September 24, 2017. Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters MER Article The Elusive Quest for a Kurdish State Kurdish communities in the Middle East have been struggling for independence, autonomy and civil rights since at least the 1880s. While Kurdish movements across the region have suffered from fragmentation, the more formidable obstacle to fulfilling Kurdish aspirations are regional and global geopoli Djene Rhys Bajalan • 18 min read
MER Article Kurdistan, One and Many A lot of water has flown under a number of bridges since MERIP’s last issue on Kurdish politics in 2008. The emergence and subsequent crushing of Arab uprisings, the beginning and abrupt end of the Kurdish peace process with the entrenchment of authoritarianism in Turkey, the smashing of the The Editors of Issue #295 • 3 min read
