When we talk about the ‘Kurdish question’ in Turkey, two of the major problems being discussed are authoritarianism and anti-Kurdish racism. Kurdish people face state-sponsored discrimination and violence on the basis of their ethnic identity. They also lack access to meaningful democratic avenues by which to effect political change. 

A timely new paper by Dr. Lisel Hintz and Harun Ercan, “Permissive prejudice in localized authoritarian consolidation: evidence from Turkey's municipalities,” looks at how these two dynamics interact, with broader lessons for the struggle for democracy and equality in Turkey and worldwide. The paper is focused on the tactics that the Turkish state uses to crack down on political opposition at the municipal level, looking at the similarities and differences in tactics used against pro-Kurdish mayors and mainstream Turkish opposition mayors.

On this episode of the Kurdish Peace Podcast, KPI Director of Research Meghan Bodette speaks with Dr. Hintz about the findings of the paper, how they explain current developments in Turkish politics, and what lessons there are for those seeking to promote peaceful, pluralist democracy in Turkey and other autocratic contexts. 

On March 31st, millions of voters across Turkey went to the polls to elect mayors and municipal councils. For the pro-Kurdish political movement and millions of Kurdish voters, the elections were particularly critical. Local democracy gives Kurds a chance at self-governance and an opportunity to implement policies that would be impossible to put into practice at the national level in Turkey's authoritarian, nationalist political climate.

At the same time, the Turkish government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made Kurdish local democracy a target of severe repression. Over 75% of voters who supported successful pro-Kurdish candidates in the 2019 local elections were deprived of their elected representation when their municipalities were seized by the state.

On election day, pro-Kurdish parties won back most of those municipalities despite unfree and unfair elections. Now, they're fighting to hold on to their democratic victories.

To learn more about the struggle for local democracy in Kurdish regions and the model it provides for Turkey and the Middle East, KPI Director of Research Meghan Bodette (@_____mjb) speaks with Ceylan Akça (@ceylanakcac), Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party MP for Diyarbakir.

This episode was recorded on April 3, 2024. 

This is a recording of a live Kurdish Peace Institute event held on March 26, 2024.

In March 2019, the Syrian Democratic Forces and the U.S.-led Global Coalition Against Daesh captured the last ISIS-held territory in Syria, marking the territorial defeat of the caliphate. Since then, the United States has maintained a military presence in Syria in order to ensure the enduring defeat of the jihadist group. The SDF continues to conduct counter-ISIS operations and keep tens of thousands of ISIS-affiliated individuals in custody.

But regional political dynamics and military developments have changed the game.  The war against ISIS is no longer the primary axis of conflict in northern Syria. In the five years since the end of the caliphate at Baghouz, Turkey, Iran, the Syrian regime, and other actors have advanced their own strategies in the region to the detriment of security and stability in Syria and beyond. In Washington, discussions about a potential U.S. withdrawal from Syria and Iraq are gaining momentum—but discussions about a political strategy to end the war are lagging behind. 

How did we get here? What is the state of the U.S.-SDF partnership today, and where is it going? And what can be done to re-prioritize northern Syria, find a sustainable solution to ensure the defeat of ISIS as a group and an end to the conditions that led to its rise, and bring the conflict in the region to an end in a way that serves the interests of all parties involved? Our speakers discussed the answers to these questions and more on this timely panel. 

Speakers:
Gen. Joseph Votel, U.S. Army, Ret.
Former CENTCOM Commander (2016-2019)

Ilham Ahmed
Co-Chair, Foreign Ministry, Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

Moderator:
Meghan Bodette, Director of Research, Kurdish Peace Institute