Labelling Ethno-Political Groups as Terrorists: The Case of the PKK in Trkiye [Hardcover]

This book examines the impact of applying the terrorist label to a groups choice to resort to violence within an ethno-nationalist conflict.

In this groundbreaking study, Muhanad Seloom traces more than three decades of conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to reveal the far-reaching power of a single word. Drawing on unprecedented access to archives, media databases, and over a decade of interviews with Kurdish voices across T?rkiye and Syria, this book shows how the label terrorist reshaped strategies, silenced dialogue, and trapped generations in cycles of violence. From the PKKs 1984 insurgency to its self-dissolution in 2025, Seloom charts decisive moments that defined the trajectory of one of the worlds most intractable conflicts. He unpacks how labels travel through governments, media, and international institutions, shaping not just state policies but everyday livesstigmatising whole communities, radicalising identities, and closing off pathways to peace. At once deeply human and rigorously analytical, this book challenges readers to rethink what we mean when we say terrorism and to see how words themselves can escalate warsor help end them. Perfect for students, scholars, policymakers, and anyone seeking to understand the politics of naming, this work is both a timely case study and a call for reimagining how we confront violence, identity, and the pursuit of peace.

Cyndi Banks, Professor Emeritus of Criminology, Northern Arizona University Deputy Vice Chancellor, Arden University, London

In his book Labelling Ethno-Political Groups as Terrorists, Muhanad Seloom sets out a thorough empirical study of the impact of labelling and processes of securitisation on the development of the PKK movement in Turkey and beyond as well as its perception in Turkey, Turkeys neighbouringlã6