The Past as a Prison, the Past as a Different Future, Winter 2005

The essay explores some of the socio-political realities underlying one of the most difficult historiographic problems of the twentieth century, the opposing views on the treatment of Armenians in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. The author considers the politics of Genocide recognition and denial to entrenched social and political structures, tracing it to a battle of identities. The author argues that identities are dynamic phenomena; pointing  to recent changes in the Turkish and Armenian environments and to a new level of a dialogue, he finds reason to hope that Turkish-Armenian relations may still improve...