#Kurds Under Threat# — Interview with Dr. Deniz Gumustekin.
Washington Kurdish Institute
Dominic Brunaccioni.
Washington Kurdish Institute Podcast: Author Dr. Gumustekin on Kurds Under Threat: the Role of Kurdish Transnational Networks During Peace and Conflict.
I had the distinguished honor to have an interview with Dr. Gumustekin on their newly published book, Kurds Under Threat: the Role of Kurdish Transnational Networks During Peace and Conflict. Dr. Gumustekin had much to say about how the research involved for their novel has shed light on how different Kurdish groups interact with each other, how peace and conflict change the dynamics of Kurdish interaction, as well as how current foreign politics have shifted the strength of Kurdish identities.
Dr. Gumustekin’s novel provides a unique angle into a variety of Kurdish internal relationships. When asked about what served as the foundation for her research, as well as where she developed her initial theories on Kurdish groups, Dr. Gumustekin stated that:
“The idea I had in mind when I started, the question I had in my head: Why are they not collaborating, or what influences their relationship? There are some theories out there; is it cultural, is it linguistic differences, or is it something else? So my theory was that I believe that a third party will intervene and also influence the relationship between those organizations. When I say organization, it’s also increased political parties, organizations, and some small organizations out there.”
Dr. Gumustekin talked much about the varying levels of collaboration between Kurdish organizations, and how not all Kurdish groups are exactly united in their perspectives, mentioning that “there are cases that you see somewhat negative statements and disagreements over things. And sometimes there’s even in-fighting, it goes on between them too.” While some Kurdish groups collaborate quite frequently, the most divisive Kurdish organization according to Dr. Gumustekin, is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Dr. Gumustekin mentioned that “the other Kurdish organizations tend to distance themselves from the PKK, because Turkey poses a threat to other organizations if they support the PKK. Especially if they are a political organization, like the Kurds in Northern Iraq.” But this volatile relationship is much more dynamic than it appears, as in times of peace, Turkey was previously much more cooperative with the PKK, and almost reached a deal to send many PKK refugees over to the Kurdistan Regional Government. On the other hand, Dr. Gumustekin alluded that times of conflict can also unify Kurdish groups, such as the threat of ISIS in the mid 2010’s. Gumustekin concluded that the manners that foreign governments collaborate with Kurdish groups, but also the internal collaboration between Kurdish groups, intensely vary in both times of peace and combat.
But Dr. Gumustekin added that Turkey itself is not the only foreign power capable of rearranging internal Kurdish networks: “It’s not just Turkey. International organizations like the United States and others can be threats. We can call them threats, or ‘influencers’, or ‘agents’ that influence the relationship between Kurdish organizations. … There are times that the United States warns Syrian Kurds and the Kurdish Regional Government to distance themselves from the PKK and other rebel organizations.” Much of how Kurdish groups interact with each other is dictated by foreign entities abroad, and Dr. Gumustekin went on to warn that Ankara’s assimilation policies currently active in Turkey and Syria are severely damaging Kurdish groups active in those countries, which threatens all Kurdish transnational networks. When asked the concluding question about what urgent actions all Kurdish peoples need to take to better unite the Kurdish organizations, Dr. Gumustekin reflected with the following statement:
“I think as an individual, we have a responsibility to just force those organizations to help one another, if there’s a crisis, like how the HDP (Kurdish party in Turkey), helped the Syrian Kurds during the ISIS crisis. And most of them are in prison right now. All these political leaders are in prison because they felt a responsibility for Syrian Kurds, but also their constituencies felt really strong about ISIS and Syrian Kurds, and felt responsible for the Syrian Kurds. You know, they still have relatives across the border. So I think it’s also our responsibility. We can not wait for them to act. We have to force, we have to push them to do something about any situation that may happen in the future.”
The Washington Kurdish Institute would like to once again thank Dr. Gumustekin for her work and research in Kurdish internal affairs. For 30% off of the novel’s purchase, use the code LEX30AUTH21. Their novel can be purchased via Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Dr. Deniz Gumustekin completed MA in Political Science at Georgia State University and earned her PhD in International Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University. Currently, Dr. Gumustekin is a part-time faculty member for both Interdisciplinary Studies Department and Political Science Department at Kennesaw State University. [1]