The Turkish Left and the Kurdish Question

This essay examines Marxist Turkish left's engagement with the Kurdish question in Turkey. It aims to portray, on the basis of some first-hand material, the theoretical inclinations and political attitudes of the main legal and illegal Marxist parties and organizations concerning the Kurdish question. It basically argues that the Turkish Marxists' stressful engagement with the Kurdish question can be viewed in four periods corresponding to four conditions: encounter, union, separation, and divorce.