Frontline Turkey: The Conflict at the Heart of the Middle East

Basaran, a Turkish journalist, delivers a concise, if dense, summary of the complex politics and conflicts between Turkey and its Kurdish population, recapping the personalities, parties, and principles that make up this long-running war. Basaran condenses four decades of strife and traces their intersection with the evolution of the Turkish state, now veering toward authoritarianism and Islamist tendencies under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom she labels an “unpredictable and erratic strongman.” The story of the most recent, abortive peace process is not for the novice: muddling factors include rifts in the Turkish government, disputes between Kurdish political parties, the prospect of Turkey joining the European Union, assassinations of Kurds by state security forces, and the role of Kurds fighting in the Syrian civil war. The author lays blame for the collapse of negotiations in 2015 on a complex mix of influences and laments the waste of an “invaluable opportunity: the chance to end a 40-year-old war.” Casual readers of international news will struggle with the swirl of acronyms and names, and Turkey experts may find points to debate. But for a relatively short work, Basaran’s survey covers a huge amount of material and will be of interest to readers already well versed in the subject matter. (Jan.)