Speaker: John Holland-McCowan, Research Fellow, International Security Program

Since the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and their affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG) fighting forces gained world-wide attention with their role in rescuing the Yazidis on Sinjar Mountain in August of 2014, academics and policymakers have sought to understand these controversial, intertwined, and severely understudied organizations.  To better understand what underpinned the PYD, the YPG, and the SDF’s success during this period, the speaker will present a history of the Syrian Kurds, their place within the Syrian civil war, as well as discuss his doctoral research’s other key findings.

Everyone is welcome to join us via Zoom! Register before the seminar here:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwtf-GrqD8vGtVBS8UgEHr3gthdixHaZNAv 

Speaker: John Holland-McCowan, Research Fellow, International Security Program

In the U.S.-led coalition's campaign against ISIS in Syria, the controversial and understudied Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have served as the tip of the spear. This seminar will present what underpinned the Syrian Kurds' remarkable success from mid 2014 to mid 2017 before discussing the broader implications for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East

Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom!  Click here. Meeting ID number: 596848662