Turkish-Kurdish Reconciliation: Promise and Peril

Abstract

As part of its ongoing negotiations with the European Union, Turkey has made an effort to broaden its definition of national identity to include ethnic and religious sub-groups. This reconciliation process – a welcomed step for Turkey - is held at risk by the inherent instability of the reform process itself and the unpropitious regional and global environment. To continue the path to membership in the EU, interested parties such as the United States will have to play a crucial role in ensuring that Turkey’s fears about the potential negative fallouts from the reform process are not realized.