KPRC Events
NOVEMBER 2018
Panel Discussion with Mr. Ismail Beşikçi
The Anti-Kurdish Paradigm: From Sykes-Picot to the September 2017 Referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan
November 26, 2018 1:00 -3:00 p.m.
The National Press Club - Holeman Lounge
529 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20045
Mr. Ismail Beşikçi is a renowned sociologist, Kurdologist, PEN Honorary Member and former Nobel Peace Prize candidate who caught the attention of international politics with his work on the Kurdish Question and the continuing struggle of Kurds including their right to self-determination in the age of nation-states. He is the author of numerous anthropological studies on the social stratification of Kurds and Kurdistan, which he portrays as an international colony under the occupation of Iran, Iraq, Syria Turkey.
Mr. Ismail Beşikçi will discuss the Kurdish struggle for independence from Sykes-Picotto the recent Independence Referendum held in Iraqi Kurdistan in September 2017 and the reasons behind the lack of support from the international community.
The Third Annual Conference
The Evolving Geopolitics in the post-ISIL Middle East
November 14, 2018 11:40 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
The National Press Club - First Amendment Lounge
529 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20045
The conference aims to bring together leading academics, journalists, commentators, politicians and policy makers to offer perspectives on the fast-evolving situation in the Middle East, and particularly on Kurdish people’s rise to political and military significance in the region against the backdrop of the fall of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the rise of Iran as the new regional power.
Deliberations will be on the following themes:
How is Tehran’s rapid rise in the Middle East and its interventionist foreign policy undermining regional and global power relations while posing an existential threat to the Kurdish political gains in Iraq and Syria?
How has the campaign of violence and intimidation become the basis for the grip on power that Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party maintain? What are the geopolitical implications of Turkey’s policies towards the crisis in the Middle East and the Turkish involvement in Syria, which are frequently at odds with U.S. policies? Could Turkey resume its so-called ‘Democratic Initiative’ or ‘Kurdish Opening’ as the country is suffering through one of its worst economic and political crises stemming from its anti-Kurdish position?
What will be the new phase of U.S.-Kurdish relations in the post-ISIL period as ISIL subdued leaving its place to a much serious and strategic threat posed by Iran and its proxies in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere? Will the Trump administration continue and consolidate its partnership with Kurds in an effort to compel Iran and its proxies to leave Syria and Iraq? How long the US will tolerate the Turkish occupation of Syria? Could an agreement that disregards the Kurdish interests remedy fundamental issues in the Middle East and serve long-term U.S. interests in the region?
FEBRUARY 2018
Panel Series
Turkey's Invasion of Afrin: A Litmus Test for New Alliances
February 5, 2018 8:45 a.m. - 12 p.m.
The National Press Club - Murrow Room
529 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20045
In panel 1, our panelists will address this pivotal new phase in relations between the emerging regional players and global powers from a variety of perspectives and make policy recommendations concerning the future of Syria and the region in the wake of the battle against terrorist groups entering a new stage and the formation of new alliances.
In panel 2, our panelists the underlying causes of Turkey’s aggression against the Kurds of Syria and its consequences in local, regional and global contexts.
MAY 2017
The Second Annual Conference
The U.S.-Kurdish Collaboration in the Course of Reshaping the Middle East
May 25, 2017 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The National Press Club
529 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20045
APRIL 2017
Book Launch
An Uncertain Ally: Turkey Under Erdogan's Dictatorship
David L. Phillips
Director, Program on Peace-Building and Rights Institute for the Study of Human Rights
Columbia University
April 5, 2017 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
The National Press Club - Zengar Room
529 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20045
SEPTEMBER 2016
Panel Discussion
Turkey’s Intervention in Rojava and Its Consequences
September 9, 2016 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Board Source Conference Room
750 9th St NW, Suite 650
Washington, DC 20001
Panelists will offer their views on the root causes of the current political crisis in Rojava, discuss the political implications of the recent Turkish invasion as well as the clashes between Turkish-backed FSA and the Kurdish YPG-led Democratic Syrian Forces.
JUNE 2016
Congressional Briefing
June 10, 2016 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Cannon House Office Building Room 402
This event is co-sponsored by Syrian Emergency Task Force, Syriac National Council of Syria, and United for a Free Syria, Kurdish Policy Research Center (KPRC).
APRIL 2016
The First Annual Conference
Co-Existence through Democratic Autonomy and Self-Governance: The Kurdish Case
April 29, 2016 - 9:00 AM
The National Press Club, Holeman Lounge
529 14th St NW Washington, DC 20045
Upheavals in the Middle East have shaped a new geopolitical landscape, while strengthening old alliances and forging new ones. The region has seen the formation of a Turko-Arab Sunni axis, which is challenging the axis composed of Shi’a Iran and its proxies. Examining the conflict and tensions between these two axes is central to understanding the dynamics that have led to the atrocities committed by the Islamic State (IS), a terrorist organization supported financially and militarily by regional players such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.