PEACE EVER?

The Kurdish conflict has been one of the most central
issues in Turkish politics today.However, not much
has been done to facilitate the resolution of this
conflict on the state level. The meetings and talks
for potential solutions have been delayed, demands
for democratization, restricted. The tension of the
issue has also affected the people of Turkey and
their wish to mobilize for possible solutions. Yet,
most of the limited attempts for dialogue and
peace-building between the two parties have come from
civil society, especially mobilizations of women in
Turkey, and feminist activists.

This study scrutinizes the Kurdish conflict and the
attempts for its resolution. In particular, it
addresses the questions of the way women s
organizations/politically active women participate in
the process of conflict resolution and the kind of
discourses Kurdish and Turkish women make use of
around the issues of peace and peace-building.
It also sheds light on the tension between Kurdish
and Turkish women/feminists and the ambiguities
within the peace discourse generated around the
issues of nationalism, violence, militarism and
patriarchy vis-à-vis the women of the two sides.

Autorentext

Yasemin Kuyucakli-Ellison received her MA in Gender Studies fromCentral European University. She also holds a bachelors degree inAmerican Literature from Istanbul University. She is currently aprofessor of English at a university in Istanbul.

Klappentext

The Kurdish conflict has been one of the most centralissues in Turkish politics today.However, not muchhas been done to facilitate the resolution of thisconflict on the state level. The meetings and talksfor potential solutions have been delayed, demandsfor democratization, restricted. The tension of theissue has also affected the people of Turkey andtheir wish to mobilize for possible solutions. Yet,most of the limited attempts for dialogue andpeace-building between the two parties have come fromcivil society, especially mobilizations of women inTurkey, and feminist activists.This study scrutinizes the Kurdish conflict and theattempts for its resolution. In particular, itaddresses the questions of the way women'sorganizations/politically active women participate inthe process of conflict resolution and the kind ofdiscourses Kurdish and Turkish women make use ofaround the issues of peace and peace-building.It also sheds light on the tension between Kurdishand Turkish women/feminists and the ambiguitieswithin the peace discourse generated around theissues of nationalism, violence, militarism andpatriarchy vis-à-vis the women of the two sides.