Historical Dimensions of Local Governance Practices in the Kurdish Region

As Off University, with the support of Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, we have been conducting various activities over the past few years within the scope of the research project "Critical Peace Studies in Turkey," increasingly focusing on the intersection of critical scholarship and political and civil activism.In 2024, we aim to shed light on the history, achievements, and potential of local governance in the Kurdish regions and to discuss the gains and transformations of municipal practices in the Kurdish region.We believe that promoting peace is inseparable from building strong civil societies and communities and ensuring full public and political participation.This work aims to provide critical knowledge about how the aforementioned practices and the new forms of political thinking and action they have generated support the process of peacebuilding.One of the core objectives of Critical Peace Studies is to ensure the participation of all groups affected by conflict as active agents in peacebuilding.Therefore, a critical approach has also been adopted in this study.This report is based on a roundtable meeting that brought together mayors, academics, NGO representatives, and legal professionals.The meeting, held within the framework of the "Critical Peace Studies in Turkey" project, focused on the history and transformation of local governance practices and perspectives in the Kurdish region.The overall scope of the roundtable was not limited to the historical development of municipal governance in the Kurdish regions since the 1970s, but also included the challenges posed by conflicts between the state and political movements in the region.This comprehensive inquiry explored how the complex interplay between state actors, political movements, and civil society organizations has influenced municipal governance dynamics and peacebuilding efforts.Participants discussed the impact of internal conflicts and external pressures on local administrations, the strategies employed by NGOs to overcome these challenges, and the dynamics shaping Kurdish governance structures and peacebuilding initiatives.The planned roundtable meeting took place on August 24, 2024, with the participation of co-mayors, academics, and civil society representatives.The meeting featured contributions from participants working in the fields of the Kurdish question, local governance, law, political science, and peacebuilding.Throughout the roundtable, participants engaged in a complementary dialogue that brought together diverse disciplinary perspectives on municipal practices in the Kurdish region, integrating different narratives and addressing the topic through a comprehensive lens.The roundtable discussion was structured around the following three themes:1.The Historical Dimensions of Local Governance Experiences in the Kurdish Region: Academic assessments 2. Local Governance Experiences in the Kurdish Region: Experience-sharing by actors 3. The