ABSTRACT
The Kurds' rise as new regional actors in the Middle East in the past few years and the impact this is having on the regional order has created a more complex reality. Kurdish political activism has reached a new height at the beginning of the twenty-first century with Kurdish movements in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria establishing themselves as a significant force in the domestic politics of these states. The trauma of Sevres ultimately drove Turkey's hypersensitivity to any politics—including efforts to build local solidarities around enduring kinship or ethnic identities—seen as undermining Turkish national identity. Indeed, one of the main attributes of the New Turkey is conspiracy theories that foreground ‘internal' and ‘external' threats to the country, essentially reviving—if it was ever dormant—the dominant official discourse and repertoires on the Kurds and the Kurdish question in general. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.
