Visiting Politics Professor Kirisci Speaks About the Kurds, Northern Syria, and Turkey

Saint Mary’s new Visiting Professor of Politics Mustafa Kirisci spoke on “What Turkey Wants: Power Struggles Over Kurds and Northern Syria” on Monday, Nov. 4, in the Lafayette Room. Hailing from Turkey, Kirisci gave his first SMC talk about the plight of the Syrian Kurds, their relationship to the Syrian civil war, and the influence of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the Syrian situation. He combined facts with political analysis, bringing a different perspective to the often inscrutable nature of the Syrian conflict.

Shining a light on the complicated situation in Turkey, Kirisci expounded on the contradictions of the Turkish political system that resulted in Erdogan’s fragile dictatorship. He also discussed Erdogan’s initial positive attitude toward the Kurds and how when that shifted, Erdogan went from needing the Kurds’ support to finding it politically expedient to demonize them. Kirisci explained that the vast majority of people in Turkey will rally around attacking Kurds because Kurds are alienated from the mainstream population; the Kurdish political party doesn’t have sufficient public support to dissuade Erdogan from attacking the Kurds. “Attacking Kurds is tantamount to fighting terrorism in Turkey today,” Kirisci later explained. “That’s why [Erdogan] believes attacking Kurds will make people rally around him.”

The professor also covered the events of 2016 and the alleged coup attempt, a probable false-flag operation that led to Erdogan’s purging the government and military leadership of anyone who opposed him. After the attempted coup, Erdogan and his government removed all military officers receiving graduate education in the United States, although they didn’t have any involvement in the coup and didn’t commit any crime that might necessitate their dismissal. “I was one of these purged officers since I was doing PhD in Texas at that time,” Kirisci added after the presentation. “In addition to those doing a PhD in the United States, they also purged all officers whom they suspected as Western-oriented officers in the military. All officers deployed in NATO headquarters, for instance, were dismissed after the coup,” he added.

Kirisci ended the talk with an account of current events, such as the United States’ withdrawal of troops from Northern Syria and Turkey’s subsequent offensive. Following this, he opened the floor to questions. Professor Ronald Ahnen asked, How can Turkey have a culture of democracy and still have a dictator? Drawing on Kirisci’s personal experience living in the region as well as his research, he explained that Turkey still holds elections to keep Erdogan in power, even after his purge, because Turkey has such a certain level of democratic engagement that canceling elections would provoke revolt. Mentioning that there are “50 shades of dictator,” Kirisci detailed how Erdogan is an authoritarian leader yet still subject to the wills of his populace and opposing parties. Kirisci’s first talk at SMC was in-depth, enlightening, and shed lights on the current news about the area.