Turkey’s Kurds
A theoretical analysis of the PKK and Abdullah Öcalan
The Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK) is examined here in this text on Kurdish nationalism.
Incorporating recent field-based research results and newly translated material on Abdullah Öcalan, 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 Öcalan
• 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.
Turkey’s Kurds also reappraises the Kurdish movement in Turkey and presents insights into the nature of Kurdish social structure, thinking, and the particularities of the Kurdish ethnic distinctness. Turkey’s Kurds is essential reading for those with interests in the
PKK, Turkey, and Turkish politics.
| 
