PKK at a Crossroads: From Armed Struggle to Potential Dissolution

You might have seen the recent, quite surprising news: the PKK's 12th Congress and its decision to consider... dissolving. This headline makes you stop and think: How does an organization with such a long and impactful history reach this point?

In our latest episode of Deep Dive of The Levant Files, titled "PKK at a Crossroads: From Armed Struggle to Potential Dissolution," created with the help of the revolutionary Gemini AI's technology, we're diving deep into this momentous development. We're not just looking at today's headlines but unpacking the PKK's entire journey.

Join us as we:

• Trace the PKK's origins in the late 1970s, its initial Marxist-Socialist ideology, and its goal of national liberation for Kurds within Turkey.
• Explore its shift to armed struggle in the 1980s, the intense conflict that ensued, and the Turkish state's multifaceted response, including the controversial village guard system.
• Witness the ideological evolutions, particularly after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the pivotal capture of Abdullah Öcalan in 1999. Discover how this led to the formulation of "Democratic Confederalism" and the establishment of the broader KCK umbrella organization.
• Understand the PKK's role within this transnational network, including its affiliates in Syria (PYD/YPG) and Iran (PJAK), and how this complex history leads us to the current, stunning consideration of dissolution.

We'll examine the key developments, ideological underpinnings, strategic shifts, and the profound questions this potential dissolution raises for the Kurdish movement and the wider region. What does self-determination mean in the 21st century, and what might this signal for the future path of Kurdish political aspirations?

Please tune in to The Levant Files for a comprehensive look at one of the Middle East's most enduring and controversial organizations, now potentially facing its most significant transformation.

🎙️ Listen now on Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts!

Academic and other sources used for the creation of the podcast: 

White, Paul J. The Pkk : Coming down from the Mountains. Rebels. London: Zed Books Ltd, 2015. Table of contents http://digitale-objekte.hbz-nrw.de/storage2/2015/10/19/file_12/6472917.pdf.

Özcan, Ali Kemal. Turkey's Kurds : A Theoretical Analysis of the Pkk and Abdullah ÖCalan. Routledge Advances in Middle East and Islamic Studies. London ; New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2006. Table of contents only http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip054/2004028869.html

Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0653/2004028869-d.html.

Marcus, Aliza. Blood and Belief : The Pkk and the Kurdish Fight for Independence. New York: New York University Press, 2007. Table of contents only http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0712/2007007891.html

Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0730/2007007891-d.html

Contributor biographical information http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0733/2007007891-b.html.

Černy, Hannes. Iraqi Kurdistan, the Pkk and International Relations : Theory and Ethnic Conflict. Exeter Studies in Ethno Politics. London ; New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.

Saeed, Seevan. Kurdish Politics in Turkey : From the Pkk to the Kck. Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics. London ; New York: Routledge, 2017.

Balci, Ali. The Pkk-Kurdistan Workers' Party's Regional Politics : During and after the Cold War. 1st ed. Cham: Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan,, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42219-0.