# The Kurdish Peace Process and the Future of the Middle East #### calendar\_today Date and Time **October 26, 2026** 12:30PM - 02:00PM EDT #### pin\_drop Location **CGIS South, S250** [1737 Cambridge St. Harvard University Cambridge, MA 02138 United States ]() ### **Speakers** - **Ibrahim Al-Assil,** Senior Research Fellow, Harvard Middle East Initiative *Syrian State-Building, Kurds and Their Impacts on Syria, Turkey, and the Beyond* - **Ekrem Karakoç**, Harvard Weatherhead Center Alumni and Professor at Binghamton University *Kurdish and Turkish Societies in the Peace Process: Expectations and Challenges* - **Mehmet Gurses**, Najmaldin Karim & Jalal Talabani Chair of Kurdish Studies, University of Central Florida *The Evolving Kurdish Question: Where to Now?* - **Evren Balta,** Harvard Weatherhead Center Alumni and Professor at Özyeğin University, Turkey *Negotiating Peace from Above: Elite Frames and the Politics of Language in Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Process* - **Ayşe Betül Çelik**, Harvard Weatherhead Center Visiting Scholar and Professor at Sabancı University, Turkey *Turkish Fears and Kurdish Hopes: A Symbolic Consensus on What “Peace” Should Entail* ### **Chair** - Melani Cammett, Center Director; Chair, Weatherhead Research Cluster on Identity and Conflict; Faculty Associate; Harvard Academy Senior Scholar. Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Department of Government, Harvard University. ### **Contact** - **Walid Hammam** [walid\_hammam@wcfia.harvard.edu](mailto:walid_hammam@wcfia.harvard.edu) - *Cosponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Global Scholars Network on Identity and Conflict.* See also:- [ Lectures & Seminars ](/event-categories/lectures-seminars) - [ 2026 ](/year/2026) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#) Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://gsnic.wcfia.harvard.edu/node/271/event-feed.ics) Copy link link