This one-day mini-conference commemorates the Turkish Republic’s 100-year anniversary through a series of talks by experts in the politics and society of Turkey/Türkiye. Each presenter will take an important theme that relates to the broader scope of the history of the Republic and, in various ways, discuss issues of change, continuity or cycles in this theme within the last 100 years. These themes will capture Turkey’s politics, state and society relations, the Kurdish issue, and Turkish foreign policy, culminating in a final roundtable to discuss the direction the Republic is headed over the next 100 years.

9:30am Opening Remarks by Arash Mafi, Executive Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, KU 

9:45am "Turkish Political Leadership and the Under-appreciated Legacy of İsmet and Erdal İnönü" with Mike Wuthrich, Associate Professor, Political Science Center for Global & International Studies, University of Kansas

11:00am "Society-state Relations in Turkey over the Last 100 Years" with Hale Yilmaz, Associate Professor, History Southern Illinois University

1:00pm "The New Turkey, the Middle East, and the Kurds Between Them" with Mehmet Gurses, Professor and Chair, Political Science Florida Atlantic University

2:15pm "One Hundred Years of Turkish Foreign Policy: Demystifying the Roles of Identity, Security, and Economic Interest" with Sabri Ciftci Professor, Political Science Kansas State University

3:45pm Roundtable: Future Direction of Turkey

5:00pm Closing