Start / The Foreign Desk / Does the dream of a kurdish state end with the pkk

Does the dream of a Kurdish state end with the PKK?

32 min • 17 maj 2025

After 40 years of war with Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) lay down their arms. So, where does that leave hopes for a sovereign Kurdish state? Or ambitions for a more democratic Turkey?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senaste avsnitt

Explainer 479: Who are the Balochistan Liberation Army and why have they suddenly attracted US attention?

13 augusti | 7 min

Cameroon’s forgotten crisis: Is reconciliation in the Anglo-Franco schism possible?

26 juli | 39 min

Explainer 477: What is behind the violence in Syria?

23 juli | 6 min

Explainer 476: Lesotho’s one-man fight for South African land

22 juli | 8 min

The future of warfare

19 juli | 34 min

Dynastic democracies

12 juli | 34 min

Explainer 475: Why has Russia recognised the Taliban?

9 juli | 7 min

How to topple a tyrant

5 juli | 36 min

Explainer 474: Tuvalu’s climate-change escape to Australia

2 juli | 7 min

Has the ‘12-Day War’ settled anything?

28 juni | 34 min

Explainer 473: Cambodia, Thailand and phone-call warfare

25 juni | 7 min

The view of Europe from Globsec Forum 2025

21 juni | 42 min

Explainer 472: The furious funeral row over Zambia’s former president

18 juni | 9 min

‘The Foreign Desk’ in Odesa: the international ripple effects of war in Ukraine

14 juni | 40 min

Explainer 471: Who gets to be an Italian citizen?

11 juni | 8 min

Odesa, the Black Sea, the front line and Ukraine’s future

7 juni | 38 min

Explainer 470: The on-again, off-again US-Iran nuclear talks

4 juni | 8 min

Are journalists safe?

31 maj | 36 min

Explainer 469: Who are India’s Maoists?

28 maj | 7 min

Why does Russia still have influence in eastern Europe?

24 maj | 32 min

Explainer 468: Tantrum or tactic? Why has Australia’s National Party split from the Liberals?

21 maj | 8 min

Does the dream of a Kurdish state end with the PKK?

17 maj | 32 min

Explainer 467: Why does Qatar want to gift Trump a jet?

14 maj | 8 min

The Trump factor

10 maj | 34 min

Explainer 466: What actually happens during a papal conclave (as far as we know)?

7 maj | 7 min

The most extraordinary first 100 days of any US presidency?

3 maj | 41 min

Explainer 465: Who is behind the terrorist attack on Kashmir?

30 april | 8 min

Live from Delphi: What’s brewing in the Eastern Mediterranean?

26 april | 28 min

Explainer 464: The threats facing Ecuador: real or invented?

23 april | 7 min

Live from Delphi: has the sun set on the transatlantic relationship?

19 april | 34 min

Explainer 463: Why is a UK MP facing corruption charges in Bangladesh?

16 april | 7 min

Live from Delphi: how to respond to Trump’s trade war

12 april | 37 min

Explainer 462: Is Mali and Algeria’s feud really about drones?

9 april | 8 min

Why has Israel gone back to war?

5 april | 36 min

Explainer 461: Marine Le Pen and the movable feast of far-right law and order

2 april | 8 min

Is Erdoğan’s crackdown backfiring?

29 mars | 33 min

Explainer 460: Jeffrey Goldberg has exited the war chat

26 mars | 9 min

Syria: Is this going to work?

22 mars | 38 min

Explainer 459: Why has Rwanda severed ties with Belgium?

19 mars | 7 min

Nato’s frontline: the view from the Baltics

15 mars | 38 min

Explainer 458: Why is Rodrigo Duterte being sent to The Hague?

12 mars | 9 min

Has the US given up?

8 mars | 38 min

Explainer 457: What does Ukraine do now?

5 mars | 7 min

Russia’s ripple effect

1 mars | 39 min

Explainer 456: What’s halting Germany’s defence? History.

26 februari | 7 min

Very well, alone?

22 februari | 39 min

Explainer 455: Mauritius’s money-laundering prime minister

19 februari | 7 min

Is Serbia OK?

15 februari | 39 min

Explainer 454: New Zealand’s beef with its neighbours

12 februari | 6 min

How to win a trade war

8 februari | 31 min

Explainer 453: Does China really control the Panama Canal?

5 februari | 8 min

What is Rwanda doing in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

1 februari | 36 min

Explainer 452: Trump’s Greenland grab

29 januari | 7 min

Can the Israel-Hamas ceasefire become lasting peace?

25 januari | 34 min

Explainer 451: The veteran rebels behind Colombia’s violent turf war

22 januari | 7 min

Mr Trump goes to Washington: the sequel

17 januari | 36 min

Explainer 450: What is Lebanon’s new government up against? Spoiler: itself

15 januari | 6 min

The legacies of US presidents

11 januari | 40 min

Explainer 449: Is China cutting Taiwan’s cables or are their wires crossed?

8 januari | 7 min

The geopolitical risks of 2025

4 januari | 36 min

Elections, conflicts and the rise of the right: a look at 2024

28 december 2024 | 35 min

The case for foreign aid

21 december 2024 | 43 min

Explainer 448: Trudeau in trouble

18 december 2024 | 6 min

The spectacular fall of the Assad regime

14 december 2024 | 48 min

Explainer 447: Why is Israel striking Syria?

11 december 2024 | 7 min

The case for indigenous political inclusion

7 december 2024 | 31 min

Explainer 446: The South Korean coup that wasn’t

4 december 2024 | 7 min

Taiwan’s China problem

30 november 2024 | 33 min

Explainer 445: Are Romania’s election candidates really that surprising?

27 november 2024 | 7 min

Is Europe ready for war?

23 november 2024 | 33 min

Explainer 444: Why are New Zealand’s Maori protesting?

20 november 2024 | 6 min

Trump’s doctrine: the sequel

16 november 2024 | 41 min

Explainer 443: The motives behind Equatorial Guinea’s sex scandal

13 november 2024 | 8 min

Trump returns: what now?

9 november 2024 | 44 min

Explainer 442: The election result making Europe breathe a sigh of relief

6 november 2024 | 6 min

US election counterintuitives

2 november 2024 | 46 min

Explainer 441: In celebration of Uruguay’s drama-free election

30 oktober 2024 | 7 min

How the war in Ukraine has reshaped Asian foreign policy

26 oktober 2024 | 41 min

Explainer 440: Why don’t Australians care about King Charles III?

23 oktober 2024 | 7 min

Artificial intelligence: Scourge or saviour?

19 oktober 2024 | 39 min

Explainer 439: Why can’t UNIFIL keep the peace in Lebanon?

16 oktober 2024 | 7 min

Strange borders

12 oktober 2024 | 39 min

Explainer 438: Is Russia and Ukraine’s gas deal about to blow?

9 oktober 2024 | 7 min

Reflections on 7 October and the future

5 oktober 2024 | 43 min

Explainer 437: Is Austria ‘Back to the Future’?

2 oktober 2024 | 8 min

Where does Hezbollah go from here?

28 september 2024 | 33 min

Explainer 436: Sri Lanka’s new president

25 september 2024 | 6 min

Keeping the Balkan peace

21 september 2024 | 42 min

Explainer 435: Kashmir elections

18 september 2024 | 6 min

In defence of Europe

14 september 2024 | 42 min

Explainer 434: Is the EU-topia failing?

11 september 2024 | 8 min

Globsec 2024 highlights

7 september 2024 | 44 min

Explainer 433: Brazil vs X

4 september 2024 | 8 min

Is centrism in retreat?

31 augusti 2024 | 35 min

Explainer 432: The theatre of war

28 augusti 2024 | 6 min

The DNC, Gaza and US-Israeli relations

24 augusti 2024 | 40 min

Does the dream of a Kurdish state end with the PKK?

Senaste avsnitt

Explainer 479: Who are the Balochistan Liberation Army and why have they suddenly attracted US attention?

Is popularity in politics a thing of the past?

Explainer 478: Why does Trump care about Bolsonaro?

The catastrophe in Gaza and the prospects of a Palestinian state

Explainer 478: Why is Islamic State targeting the DRC?

Cameroon’s forgotten crisis: Is reconciliation in the Anglo-Franco schism possible?

Explainer 477: What is behind the violence in Syria?

Explainer 476: Lesotho’s one-man fight for South African land

The future of warfare

Dynastic democracies

Explainer 475: Why has Russia recognised the Taliban?

How to topple a tyrant

Explainer 474: Tuvalu’s climate-change escape to Australia

Has the ‘12-Day War’ settled anything?

Explainer 473: Cambodia, Thailand and phone-call warfare

The view of Europe from Globsec Forum 2025

Explainer 472: The furious funeral row over Zambia’s former president

‘The Foreign Desk’ in Odesa: the international ripple effects of war in Ukraine

Explainer 471: Who gets to be an Italian citizen?

Odesa, the Black Sea, the front line and Ukraine’s future

Explainer 470: The on-again, off-again US-Iran nuclear talks

Are journalists safe?

Explainer 469: Who are India’s Maoists?

Why does Russia still have influence in eastern Europe?

Explainer 468: Tantrum or tactic? Why has Australia’s National Party split from the Liberals?

Does the dream of a Kurdish state end with the PKK?

Explainer 467: Why does Qatar want to gift Trump a jet?

The Trump factor

Explainer 466: What actually happens during a papal conclave (as far as we know)?

The most extraordinary first 100 days of any US presidency?

Explainer 465: Who is behind the terrorist attack on Kashmir?

Live from Delphi: What’s brewing in the Eastern Mediterranean?

Explainer 464: The threats facing Ecuador: real or invented?

Live from Delphi: has the sun set on the transatlantic relationship?

Explainer 463: Why is a UK MP facing corruption charges in Bangladesh?

Live from Delphi: how to respond to Trump’s trade war

Explainer 462: Is Mali and Algeria’s feud really about drones?

Why has Israel gone back to war?

Explainer 461: Marine Le Pen and the movable feast of far-right law and order

Is Erdoğan’s crackdown backfiring?

Explainer 460: Jeffrey Goldberg has exited the war chat

Syria: Is this going to work?

Explainer 459: Why has Rwanda severed ties with Belgium?

Nato’s frontline: the view from the Baltics

Explainer 458: Why is Rodrigo Duterte being sent to The Hague?

Has the US given up?

Explainer 457: What does Ukraine do now?

Russia’s ripple effect

Explainer 456: What’s halting Germany’s defence? History.

Very well, alone?

Explainer 455: Mauritius’s money-laundering prime minister

Is Serbia OK?

Explainer 454: New Zealand’s beef with its neighbours

How to win a trade war

Explainer 453: Does China really control the Panama Canal?

What is Rwanda doing in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Explainer 452: Trump’s Greenland grab

Can the Israel-Hamas ceasefire become lasting peace?

Explainer 451: The veteran rebels behind Colombia’s violent turf war

Mr Trump goes to Washington: the sequel

Explainer 450: What is Lebanon’s new government up against? Spoiler: itself

The legacies of US presidents

Explainer 449: Is China cutting Taiwan’s cables or are their wires crossed?

The geopolitical risks of 2025

Elections, conflicts and the rise of the right: a look at 2024

The case for foreign aid

Explainer 448: Trudeau in trouble

The spectacular fall of the Assad regime

Explainer 447: Why is Israel striking Syria?

The case for indigenous political inclusion

Explainer 446: The South Korean coup that wasn’t

Taiwan’s China problem

Explainer 445: Are Romania’s election candidates really that surprising?

Is Europe ready for war?

Explainer 444: Why are New Zealand’s Maori protesting?

Trump’s doctrine: the sequel

Explainer 443: The motives behind Equatorial Guinea’s sex scandal

Trump returns: what now?