Turkey’s Kurdish Question: Changing domestics and Regional dynamics through the Arab Spring

Abstract

Since the 1980s, international developments have always influenced Turkey’s Kurdish question in general and the country’s struggle with the PKK in particular. Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia in 2010 and quickly spread to several countries of the Middle East and North Africa, also significantly shaped the various decisions of the PKK, as well as Turkey’s policies to resolve the Kurdish Question in recent years. This paper examines how the Arab Spring has influenced domestic and regional dynamics of the PKK and the Kurdish Question within the framework of the PKK’s decision making processes. First, the paper explores how the Arab Spring has conceptually had an impact on the Kurdish question. Then, it presents a discussion about how the internal violence taking place in Syria has led to changes both in the PKK and on the evolution of the Kurdish question in general. Finally, the paper discusses Turkey’s recent efforts to resolve the Kurdish question within the context of the Arab Spring.

Keywords

Arab Spring, Kurdish Question, PKK.

Citation

Kayhan Pusane, Özlem, “Turkey’s Kurdish Question: Changing domestics and Regional dynamics through the Arab Spring”, International Relations, Volume 11, Issue 41 (Spring 2014), pp. 115-138.

Affiliations

• Özlem KAYHAN PUSANE, Assistant Professor Dr., Işık University, Department of International Relations