Honorable Peace,: A People, A Truth, A Future

Honorable Peace - One Nation, One Truth, One Future is a striking work where Levent ğlar's fifty years of intellectual labor meet a historical reckoning of conscience and political philosophy. The book approaches the Kurdish question in Turkey not merely as a political or security issue, but as an ontological crisis of recognition, a moral confrontation, and a historical facing of the truth. In this sense, it rebuilds the language of peace in Turkey: peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but a social contract of living together founded on recognition, justice, and shared memory.
Grounding peace in Spinoza's virtuous reason, Rousseau's general will, and Kant's universal law, ğlar offers a fresh reading of modern peace theory. He defines peace as the moral rebirth of a regime that recognizes a people's memory, honor, and will.
While deciphering the policies of denial, assimilation, and suppression pursued since the founding of the Republic through historical documents and philosophical analysis, the book asks with courage why peace has not been achieved. It lays bare the founding violence of the Republic, the legal silence of Lausanne, and the enforced invisibility of the Kurdish people. The work argues that it is not only the Kurds who must confront this regime of denial; Turkish society must do so as well-for the society that perpetrates denial is, morally, degraded alongside its victims.
Throughout the book, one core thesis comes to the fore: every injustice inflicted upon the Kurdish people is an ethical betrayal committed against Turkish society as a whole. True peace is not merely a technical or diplomatic process; it is a moral revolution and a philosophical reconstruction. Peace is possible only if the state confronts its own crimes, accepts the truth, and signs a new social contract with its people.
The book also places under scrutiny the role of international actors-especially Britain and France-and their colonial engineering in the Middle East. It exposes the partition of the Kurdish people among four states, which blocked their political subjecthood, as an international project of denial. In this regard, peace must be rethought not only within Turkey but as a regional undertaking.
Honorable Peace is not merely an academic study; it is also a summons-to memory, responsibility, solidarity, and courage. It invites younger generations to step out of the shallow realities of social media and embark on a demanding intellectual journey. In every line, it bears the dreams of Haki Karer, Kemal Pir, and Mazlum Doğan. This book is not an elegy to their memory; it is a manifesto of action worthy of their legacy.
Peace is possible. But only if we speak the truth.