Research Turkey Public Conference with Dr. Latif Taş:
“New Borders in the Middle East and the Rising Power of the Stateless Kurds”,
5 December 2014, SOAS
We are pleased to announce Centre for Policy and Research on Turkey (Research Turkey)’s public conference entitled “New Borders in the Middle East and the Rising Power of the Stateless Kurds” in which Dr. Latif Taş of University of Oxford will give a talk. This event will take place on Friday, 5 December 2014 between 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at Main College Buildings, Room G3, SOAS, University of London, WC1H 0XG. Dr. Bahar Başer, Research Fellow at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University will chair the event. The event is Co-sponsored by SOAS Development Studies, Neoliberalism, Globalisation and States Research Cluster.
You may find a short biography of Dr. Latif Taş and the synopsis of the talk below.
This event is free and open to public but it is a ticketed event that requires pre-registration. A ticket does not guarantee a seat. Please register via Event Brite link below:
http://rt-conference-dr-latif-tas-soas.eventbrite.co.uk
Synopsis of the Talk
Since the birth of nation states, Kurds have not created their own state, instead living under the rule and identity of others. Many stateless Kurds blame themselves for this situation: often thinking that they are not ‘good’ enough nationalists because they have not established a state of their own. From 1513, Kurds helped Ottoman Turks to take control over large parts of the Middle East. In 1920, as new Middle East nations sprang from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire, Kurds supported the new nation of Turkey to at least maintain a foothold on the edge of the Middle East. Today, Kurds are in a position to create their own state. Since this planned Kurdish state will cut any physical connection between Turkey and the Middle East, this is the one of the main reasons for the current proxy war against Kurds by Turkey with the help of ISIS. The aim of this talk is to explore how Kurds have shifted from weak nationalism and acting as an assistant for Turkey to a stronger nationalist position, acting independently, and in their own interests. Kurds are now key players in the current re-drawing of Middle East borders.
Short Biography of Dr. Latif Taş
Dr. Latif Taş is a researcher and consultant with the Oxford Diasporas Programme, University of Oxford. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal, Review of Social Studies (RoSS). Dr. Tas’s book, Legal Pluralism in Action: Dispute Resolution and the Kurdish Peace Committee, was published by Ashgate in 2014. His research has also appeared in the Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, and the Onati Socio-Legal Series. He is a frequent contributor to BBC World and Islam Channel discussions of Kurds, Turkey and conflict in the Middle East, and writes for the Turkish newspaper, Yurt, on similar issues. His research interests include: law, society and dispute resolution; legal anthropology; ethnic conflict management; diaspora identity and transnationalism; Kurdish, Turkish, Middle Eastern and Ottoman Studies.
