By Maria Koinova

The centennial of the 1915 Armenian genocide has gained global attention during the past month. One hundred years ago on April 24, the Young Turk regime of the collapsing Ottoman Empire started to round up and either eventually massacre or expose to an imminent death in the Syrian desert an estimated 800,000 to 1.5 million Armenians. One hundred years later, the Armenian genocide is recognized as such by the European Parliament, the parliaments or governments of 23 countries, among numerous key institutions and political figures, such as Pope Francis of the Catholic Church. But it is still officially denied as “genocide” by the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, despite a growing movement for genocide recognition within its own civil society.

The centennial commemorations raise questions beyond much discussed concerns as to whether demands for genocide recognition will help Armenia and Turkey to improve their politically…