Does Turkey See Its Armenian Minority as a Security Threat?

by Dorian Jones Members of the small ethnic Armenian community in Turkey are feeling increasingly uneasy. Their wariness is an outgrowth of recent claims by senior officials in Ankara that Kurdish rebels collaborate with Turkish Armenians, as well as the government’s… Continue Reading

Turkey’s Geopolitical Aims in Syria

by Robert Olson Turkey hopes to use the 2.7 million Syrian refugees now in Turkey as vehicles to develop and consolidate it geopolitical and geo-economic position. This is a vastly different policy from the one Ankara pursued toward Kurdish refugees… Continue Reading

Challenges to Kurdish Nationalism

by Robert Olson Several times during the last week of April, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)— and its political arm, the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK)—had been defeated and that the state was winning.… Continue Reading

Turkey’s Plan to Expand Its Periphery

by Robert Olson On March 29, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu caused quite a stir during a visit to Jordan where he stated, “Turkey’s security zone starts from Latakia and passes through Aleppo, Mosul and Sulaimani (Sulaymaniya).” This confirmed that Turkey intends to expand its regional geopolitical and… Continue Reading

War Intensifies Between Turkey and the Kurds

by Robert Olson The leadership of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) promised that its response to the devastating war waged since July against it—and its political arm, the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK)—would be attacks in western Turkey, including Ankara… Continue Reading