On September 25th, 2023, DPI held an online Assessment Meeting titled: ‘How to Build Common Interests: Current Situation in Türkiye and Opportunities for Conflict Resolution.’ The event aimed to generate an in-depth conversation about the current situation in Türkiye and realistic prospects for a possible resolution process. Our speakers for the event were academic and Director of the Istanbul Policy Centre, Professor Dr Fuat Keyman, and academic and UN Standby Team Senior Mediation Advisor, Esra Çuhadar. While Keyman gave an overview of the current situation in Türkiye, Çuhadar focused on the opportunities and challenges that the situation presented from a conflict resolution perspective.
The discussion focused on the current state of civil society in Türkiye, and the importance of civil society in keeping the prospect of peace alive in Türkiye and moving the peace agenda forward. Other topics covered included the current state of the opposition in Türkiye, brain drain, the spread of the conflict into the wider region through Northern Iraq and Syria, and a collective sense of dissatisfaction and hopelessness. Participants and speakers both emphasised the importance of rekindling hope, and empathy, and the important role that civil society organisations, and especially DPI can play in building hope and empathy for those in the country.
We would like to express our gratitude to the speakers and participants for an engaging and timely discussion. DPI will continue to organise Assessment Meetings in regular intervals to host speakers representing the broad spectrum of different political affiliations in Türkiye.
This event is part of a larger series of activities planned in the context of the project Supporting the Pro-Peace Agenda in Türkiye and the Region, supported by the Norwegian, Irish, and Swiss governments.
This report is available in English and Turkish and can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.