Factors Affecting Security for Turkey - Essay Example

Running header: Turkey Security Factors affecting security for Turkey Course Name Professor’s Name Institutional Affiliation City and State Where Institution is Located Date The internal and external factors that affect the security of Turkey and the implications for U.K defense Introduction Turkey has for a long time been a beacon of stability between Europe and the Middle East. However, it has of late entered a period of high tension. Having fought Kurdish militants in its restive east for long, Turkey has of late been busy preventing Islamist militant violence spreading from Syria and has also been cracking down on supporters of the failed July 2016 coup. Furthermore, the country’s main cities of Ankara and Istanbul have also experienced a wave of deadly bomb and gun attacks. The recent security threat has been the New Year gun attack that was blamed on Jihadist group Islamic State that targeted revelers at an exclusive nightclub on the waterfront. The Russian ambassador in Ankara has also been assassinated with other cities such as Izmir and Kayseri being targeted too. Until recently, Turkish insecurity was mainly attributed to internal factors due to the Kurdish rebellion with Turkish military battling Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) for many years. However, external factors have of late come to play. The conflict in Turkish neighbors such as Syria and Iraq has seen new tensions emerge and now for Turkey, security is not just about border security, it is also about terrorism threats from IS and other terrorism groups. As such, many factors both internal and external affect the security of Turkey. This essay therefore examines in detail the internal and external factors that affect the security of Turkey and the implications this has for UK defense. This is because UK views Turkey as an important bilateral partner especially as far as security is concerned while this is also a defense issue for UK as security for UK citizens is paramount. The global perspective and the need to be a global actor Since its establishment in 1923 after a costly war of independence against colonial forces, the republic of Turkey has seen its security being dictated by two main factors that have included its geography and its longstanding ties with its neighbors. This has seen Turkey become a regional security player in the Balkans, Europe, the Middle East, The Caucasus, The Black Sea regions and the Mediterranean and beyond. Turkey has of late become a global actor beyond the above regions with the need to remain relevant in the global circles largely dictating its security policies and hence security1. As far as its global security perspective is concerned, Turkey pegs its foreign policy on vital elements including cooperation, partnership, and respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. This includes the need to establish and maintain friendly relationships with other countries, regional and international cooperation, resolving conflicts via peaceful means while enhancing international and regional stability, peace and prosperity. This policy is also seen in the fact that in the aftermath of the Second World War, Turkey made a historic choice where it sided with free world and the Western Bloc. This saw Turkey become a member of NATO2. This choice has seen NATO become the cornerstone of Turkey’s defense and security policy since February 1952 when Turkey became a member. Turkey has made a substantial contribution to the security and defense of the Alliance and of Western Europe through guarding the Alliance’s Southern flank. Turkey has the longest border with Russia and hence it was responsible for guarding a third of the Alliance’s land frontiers against the Warsaw Pact. Turkey has also had security cooperation both in the Middle East and the Balkans, the Greece and Yugoslavia in 1954 as well as the Baghdad Pact of 1955 with Britain, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan that were aimed at consolidating of security in the respective regions. In addition, Turkey is a founding member of the UN, it is a member of NATO and leading European institutions and as such has always pursued a proactive foreign policy that has helped it develop friendship and cooperation not just in its region but even beyond3. This is a way has served to enhance security. The Kurdish Problem The Turkish concept of security has always centered on ensuring the survival of the population, protection of territorial integrity and preservation of the basic identity of the nation. It has always embodied a fear of loss of territory, geographical determinism and abandonment. In line with this security discourse, Turkey’s broadened security agenda in 1990s identified Islamism and Kurdish separatism as major security threats while use of national security was seen as vital in shaping political process by the military establishment. The Kurdish problem has however been the main source of political instability and existential threat to Turkey’s territorial integrity since 1980s. The political establishment has always perceived the Kurdish question strictly as a security concern and a terrorism problem. This has seen the Kurdish demands being reject and there has been failure of constructive engagement of the Kurdish population which has in turn been the main hindrance to finding a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish conflict thus fixing this security issue permanently. The Kurdish problem is mainly concerning the securitization of Kurds demands and ethnic existence not only by the Turkish government and army but also by civilian bureaucracy, political parties, civil society organizations and the media. It is however worth noting that efforts have been going on to resolve the Kurdish problem and de-securitization of the issue has happened during PKK ceasefire periods for instance between 2002-2005, 2009-2011 and 2013-2015. However, the Kurdish peace process is no more as it broke down in July 2015 as a result of disagreements between Turkey and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). As a result, PKK has brought military tactics honed in Syria to Turkey and this has sparked low-intensity urban warfare with Turkish Security forces which has resulted in a lot of deaths. Despite these developments, the government still remains unbowed. The Kurdish Workers Party remains outlawed and Kurdish demands and issues remains unaddressed. The government to a large extent remains in dilemma since it considers that extending operations against PKK that has resulted back to its armed struggle with demands of autonomy along the Iraq and Syria borders will further alienate people living in the regions further complicating the security problem. On the other hand, PKK remains unbowed and will not easily give up the armed struggle for that and it would want to bring Turkey’s security forces face to face with civilians in towns as opposed to militants in mountains. Thus, as long as the government does not find an amicable solution to the Kurdish problem, it will continue being a major security challenge for Turkey. This is because the Kurds will always fight and unless there is cease fire, Turkey cannot assume to be at peace with itself. The war in Syria and Turkey’s relationship with Russia The civil war is Syria has probably been the greatest contributor to the deterioration of security in Turkey. It is however argued that Turkey is largely to blame for this. At the beginning of the war in 2000s, Turkey’s leader became the worst foe with Syrian president. Yet Turkey did not side with those who wanted to overthrow Assad but instead wanted a regime change. Turkey also turned a blind eye to those arriving from Ataturk international airport on their way to wage jihad against Assad. The neglect provided ground for coordination with various extremist groups with the IS being the most significant4. At the same time, foreign fighters were trooping into Turkey in large numbers5. For instance, the PKK helped its Syrian counterpart the Democratic Union Party set up an armed force to protect Syria’s small Kurdish population from Assad. This force has been able to push ISIS along the Syrian-Turkey boarder to the detriment of Turkey’s security. In other words, the civil war in Syria seems to have offered a good ground for terrorist movements such as Rojava and the ISIS to thrive. This is a security threat for Turkey since terrorist groups continue to corporate with such groups as PKK to terrorize Turks to the detriment of Turkey’s security. Thus, as long as the fighting in Syria is ongoing, the security of Turkey continue to be threatened. Thus, the war is Syria is a major external factor that affects Turkey’s security. It is also worth noting that Turkey’s relationship with Russia is another external factor that greatly affects Turkey’s security. There have been a few incidences between Russia and Turkey that have seen Puttin threaten to attack Turkey and this poses a great risk to Turkey’s security. The killing of Russia’s ambassador in Ankara is such example. But this rivalry stems from the US enmity with Russia given that Turkey borders Russia yet it corporates with the US on security matters. Despite various peace efforts, the civil war in Syria is likely to continue. As a part of the United States led coalition against ISIL, Turkey finds it hard to move into the Syria Theater owing to the presence of Russia there given the recent downing of the plane unless Turkey’s leader is able to find a way out with Russia6. This is a security threat to Turkey especially as far as the advances of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) which is the Syrian wing of PKK that is tied to the Kurdish problem is concerned. This means that Turkey could be limited in its pursuit for the military groups that have emerged with the Syrian problem. As such, how the Syrian war turns as well as how the issues between Turkey and Russia are resolved greatly determines the state of Turkey’s security. Terrorism Another factor that has great implication on Turkey’s security is terrorism. For instance, Turkey has of late been facing an elevated and complex terror threat mainly attributed to Kurdish separationists as well as Islamist radicals. In addition, far-left militants have also periodically carried out anti-government as well as anti-Western attacks. The Kurdish fighters linked to PKK and TAK have for instance conducted multiple terror attacks in Turkey’s major cities since 2015. The groups have hit airports, tourist places, security forces as well as crowded transportation hubs resulting in major deaths and injuries. On the other hand, Islamic State (IS) linked militants have also conducted several high profile attacks in Turkey resulting in many deaths and injuries. Islamic militants in Syria have also been known to conduct border strikes leaving dozens of Turks dead in Gaziantep and Kilis provinces7. The Sunni extremist group has also been carrying out global high profile attacks including military strategic operations against Turkey. These attacks have worsened after Turkey started operations in Syria in 2016. As can be seen, Terrorism in Turkey is not related to a single group but several actors with differing motives8. Thus, the terrorism is explained by the factors explained below. The war in Syria has greatly contributed to terrorism and hence insecurity in Turkey as explained above. The war has been on for more than five years and as a result several armed groups have emerged. It is worth noting that Turkey shares a 500 miles border with Syria which presents major security headaches for Turkey which has also been accused of allowing foreign fighters to cross over and join groups such as the IS of Iraq and ISIS of Syria. There has also been greater movement in the other direction with more than 2.5 million Syrians now being estimated to live in Turkey9. The immigrants as well as traditional criminal groups have in no doubt contributed to increasing insecurity in Turkey. Another factor contributing to terrorism and hence insecurity in Turkey is Kurdish insurgency given the fact that Kurds live in Eastern Turkey and parts of Syria, Iraq and Iran. Kurdish militants fight ISIS in Syria meaning that Turkey’s preoccupation with fighting Kurdish forces in Syria is in conflict with US and Russia. This places Turkey on the same side as ISIS in the conflict thus making its fight against terrorism unsuccessful. Another factor that fuels terrorism and hence insecurity in Turkey is ISIS. ISIS has been committing a rising number of terrorist attacks in Turkey where hundreds of people have been killed. ISIS has for instance been blamed for the airport attack10. Thus, ISIS and other local terrorist groups are also a great determinant of Turkey’s security and the government continues to put in measures to overcome the threats although their terrorist acts have been on the rise. Geopolitics also determine Turkey’s security. For instance, the airport attack happened just after Turkey announced plans of normalizing diplomatic ties with Israel that had raptured since 2010 when Turkish flotilla activists were killed by Israeli security forces for trying to break Israel’s aid blockade on Gaza strip. On the other hand, in its attempt to end the isolation caused by its policy in Syria, Turkey did apologize to Russia in a bid to med the thawed relations since it brought down Russia war plane near its border with Syria. The airport attack is also seen as a retaliation by ISIS in response to the deal with Israel. Turkey has also carried out arrests and raids that target ISIS at its border with Syria and this could also have sparked the attack in retaliation. Domestic political situation In any country, the policies adopted by the government of the day will greatly affect its security. Turkey is not an exception. The country’s domestic security situation has increasingly become tenuous owing to various issues that have served to undermine President Erdogan’s policies11. Politics in Turkey have been characterized by a reactionary and simultaneous fight against various terrorist threats including the IS, Kurdish militants and the Gullen movement. These competing threats have thus found the president entangled by the struggle to balance between long-term and immediate domestic security challenges. The Gullen movement is for instance blamed for the recent military coup that led to major crackdown on internal dissent. However, the brutal way in which the government of the day is dealing with rebellion is likely to lead to strengthened hardline movements such as the IS owing to the shrinking space for constructive political engagement. As the government goes on with its authoritarian spiral, domestic purges will not protect Turkey from external threats. The IS is for instance increasing its attacks against Turkey despite losing a lot of ground in Iraq and Syria. The attacks are also likely to increase owing to the backflow of foreign fighters returning across the country’s Southern border, Turkish military increased involvement in Syria and Iraq as well as the current refugee crisis are all serving to increase likelihood of attacks. It can thus be said that Turkish domestic security has become increasingly tenuous due to the reactionary fight against terrorist threats policy that has been adopted by the government12. The government has also prioritized the dismantling of the Gullen movement though it also faces challenges posed by other groups such as the IS and the Kurdish militant groups13. As the country tries to balance the Kurds and IS against each other, Turkey is likely to become a prime target of the groups. The situation could be worsened by the president’s pragmatism giving away to authoritarianism and the enemies’ efforts frustrating the government’s efforts. Thus, it can be concluded that the kind of security policies adopted by the government of the day will greatly affect security in Turkey. Border security policies Turkey’s security is also greatly affected by its border security problem and hence its border security policies. Turkey’s security shortcomings along the border it shares with Iraq and Syria have in fact been blamed for increased terrorist activities in Turkey as well as increase in immigrants. This is because the current border policy for Turkey allow anyone to freely cross the border with vehicles and goods. The laxity at the border is to some extent political as it is results from an intentional policy decision by the government to support the Syrian opposition. This has in turn allowed Islamic State fighters as well as Syrian opposition freely cross to and fro in securing their logistical needs14. The laxity at the border is also blamed on lack of capacity by Turkey given that it has 2753 kilometers border with Iran, Iraq and Syria that has tough topography and weather conditions which impede border security and supervision. However, despite the border security problem being blamed on politics and the lack of capacity, the effect is increased insecurity not only in Turkey but also in other neighboring countries due to increased acts of terror as well as other criminal activities by illegal immigrants. Thus, as far as the Turkey border problem remains, its security will always be greatly affected. The implication for UK defense Turkey is a Eurasian country and its geographic position at the entrance of Europe makes its vulnerable to security challenges especially owing to the happenings in the Middle East and in other Turkey’s neighbors. However, its position also makes it a valuable ally especially to European countries which UK is part of. As such, its security or lack of it has a great impact on the UK defense. It is worth noting that Turkey adopts a security cooperation with many nations including being part of NATO15. As part of NATO, Turkey is an important ally as it guards its side of the NATO states against aggressions that might result from porous borders such as illegal immigration and acts of terrorism. In other words, it’s a worthy ally in ensuring the achievement of the NATO agenda. Apart from both UK and Turkey being part of NATO which means the security of each of them is important to each nation’s defense, the UK and Turkey have had many years of military cooperation. This means that Turkey being secure would be in the best interests of UK defense since in this case, a stable Turkey would help the UK defense achieve its objectives in the various areas of cooperation. A secure turkey would be in UK’s best interest owing to the fact that Turkey has a strong network of relationships and influence in regions where UK defense interests are significant. Such regions include the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, Afghanistan and western Balkans. These relationships and the fact that Turkey is a NATO ally would make a secure Turkey desirable for the UK defense. For instance, during the Arab spring, Turkey did provide vital military support to the NATO mission in Libya through refueling aircraft and arms embargo while it also represented the UK’s interests in Libya at the onset of the crisis16. The UK has also cooperated with Turkey’s defense in such other countries as Syria while the UK defense has always viewed Turkey playing a leading role in solving the Iran nuclear issue. Turkey also has a strong network of relationships in regions in which UK has significant defense interests such as Iraq, Afghanistan among others. As NATO and UK ally, Turkey has contributed essential military support to the mission in Afghanistan. Turkey also provides vital access route through Incirlik airbase while providing more than 1800 troops to the mission. Turkey also provides reconstruction teams and is involved heavily in training of Afghan security forces. The UK defense also views Turkey as a vital ally for UK in NATO as it makes an active and significant contribution to operations and missions that support the UK interests such as the NATO’s operation to enforce the arms embargo in Libya and Kosovo as well as NATO’s counter terrorism and piracy operations. This means that Turkey’s security has great implications for UK’s defense especially as far as military cooperation is concerned as this would go a long way into ensuring the UK defense succeeds in its international missions where they cooperate with Turkey. As such, Turkey being able to overcome the factors that undermine its security would be a boost to UK’s defense as a secure Turkey would be better for the UK defense. The UK defense primary interest is the security of UK citizens wherever they are. The UK defense would also be interested in the security of UK interests in Turkey. As such, it has primary interest in the security of Turkey since thousands of UK citizens’ troop to Turkey every year as tourists while others work for the UK government in Turkey17. The UK defense department is constantly issuing travel advisories to those who would want to tour Turkey whenever there is need in a bid to ensure security of its citizens. As such, Turkey’s security would be of paramount importance to UK defense especially owing to the proximity of the two countries since a secure Turkey would mean more security for the UK citizens in Turkey and also those freeing Turkey’s war-torn neighbors. It is thus worth concluding that the security of Turkey would have a great impact on UK defense. The geographical location of Turkey at the entrance of Europe makes it a valuable ally for European nations including the UK in their quest for the security of the region. Thus, the security of Turkey would have a great impact on the UK defense. As stated above, Turkey is faced with many security threats both internally and externally18. Internally, the country has to deal with organized rebellion from such groups as Kurdish groups, the terror groups such as the ISIS and the leftist movements such as the Gullen movement which have even attempted to overthrow the government recently. Externally, Turkey is dealing with the effect of the current civil war in Europe. This is in addition to lack of a good border security policy meaning that Turkey is vulnerable to various terrorist and criminal groups entering the country. Thus, an insecure Turkey would mean that such groups would be accorded a good ground to survive and even train others. Owing to Turkey’s proximity to UK, this would be bad for its defense since the criminal and terrorist groups would find their way into UK after training in Turkey. This would be a head ache for UK defense as they would need to improve on border security while taking in more security challenges as a result of increased insecurity in Turkey19. This means that for the UK defense, a more secure Turkey would be desirable. Being a Eurasia country, it also worth noting that Turkey serves as an important link between Europe, Africa and Asia. As such, an insecure border means that millions of illegal immigrants cross into Turkey every year before proceeding to other European countries including the UK in search of greener pastures. These illegal immigrants are blamed for increased insecurity and hence UK would be interested in a more secure Turkey that is able to adequately guard its borders against illegal immigrants thus making the UK and Europe in general more secure. It is also worth noting that millions of refugees cross into Turkey from Syria and such other countries every year20. This means that a more secure Turkey provides a safe haven for them. For the UK defense, this is important since if the refugee crisis extends beyond Turkey into UK, it would mean internal security challenges for the UK which would not be in the interest of UK defense. Conclusion This essay has discussed in detail the factors that affect security for Turkey and how this could impact UK defense. These factors are both internal and external. Internal factors include the Kurdish problem as well as the activities of movements such as the Gullen movement. The politics practiced by the government of the day and the country’s boundaries security policies also greatly impact Turkey’s security. All these factors have been found to militate against a secure Turkey and this is largely blamed on the government’s policy of using force instead of seeking dialogue with the dissenting groups. Externally, such factors as the foreign policy adopted by the government, volatility in Turkey’s neighbors, Turkey’s geographic location and terrorism have also been found to greatly affect Turkey’s security where security in Turkey has greatly deteriorated especially after the start of the civil war in Syria. It has also been stated that security in Turkey has great implications for UK defense since a more secure Turkey would mean better military cooperation between UK and Turkey in areas of mutual interest. Furthermore, an insecure Turkey would mean increased terrorism activities in Europe as well as illegal immigrants and this would mean increased challenged for UK defense. References: Park, B. Bill, “Regional turmoil, the rise of Islamic State, and Turkey’s multiple Kurdish dilemmas,” International Journal 7, no. 3 (2016): 451-418. Seyda, Hanbay, “Understanding Turkey’s security discourse, Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review 23, no.1 (July 2010): 70-89. Marks, Marks, “ISIS and Nusra in Turkey: Jihadist recruitment and Ankara’s response,” Institute for Strategic Dialogue (New York: Carnegie, 2016) 7-35. Nicole V. Johnson, “Turkish reactions to the Arab Spring: Implications for United States foreign policy,” Global security studies, 3 no.4 (fall, 2012)1-10. Cagapty, Soner, “Syria’s war affecting Turkey in unexpected ways”, The Washington Institute, http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/syrias-war-affecting-turkey-in- unexpected-ways, (Accessed 18th January 2017) Ozkose O. Faruk, “European security and defense policy and its implications for Turkey,” The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University, 2002. Aybet, Gulnur, Turkey’s security challenges and NATO, Carnegie, Europe, 2016, http://docplayer.net/20883468-Turkey-s-security-challenges-and-nato.html( Accessed 18th January 2017) Cook, Steven, Turkey’s in a terrible spot, Geography makes the country a valuable partner for the West. It also makes it vulnerable, Slate, http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2016/06/isis_is_just_one_pro blem_of_many_for_turkey_and_erdogan.html, (Accessed 18th January 2017). Muftuler B. Meltem, “Turkey’s Role in the EU’S security and foreign policies,” Security Dialogue, 31 no.4 (December, 2000)490-501. Serif Demir, “Turkey’s contribution to the European common security and defense policy,” Turkish Public Administration Annual, 38, no. 1 (2012) 1-22. Basirat.ir, Turkey’s insecurity stems from AKP’s wrong policies, Basirat, http://basirat.ir/en/news/1631/turkey%E2%80%99s-insecurity-stems-from- akp%E2%80%99s-wrong-policies (Accessed 18th January 2017). The Guardian, The guardian view on the Istanbul bombings: Turkey’s security challenge, Editorial, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/29/the-guardian-view- on-the-istanbul-bombings-turkeys-security-challenge (Accessed 18th January 2017) Jacoby, Tim, Political violence, the war on terror and the Turkish military, Critical Studies on Terrorism, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17539151003594251 ( Accessed 18th January 2017) Al-monitor.com, Turkey’s border security problem, Turkey Pulse, http://www.al- monitor.com/pulse/en/originals/2014/11/turkey-border-security-problem.html (Accessed 18th January 2017) Bilgin, Peter, “Turkey’s changing security discourses: The challenge of globalization,” European Journal of Political Research, 44 no. 1 (2005) 175-201. Celikpala, Mitat, “Escalating rivalries and diverging interests: Prospects for stability and security in the Black Sea Region,” Journal of Southeast European & Black Sea Studies 10, no.3 (September 2010): 287-302. Dinc, Cengiz “Turkey as a key player in the architecture of the European Security and Defense System,” Eurolimes 10, (Autumn 2010): 33-45. Online via Proquest. Do Ceupinto, Maria,” Turkey’s accession to the European Union in terms of impact on the EU’s security and the defense policies-potential and drawbacks. “Revista Brasileira De Politica Internactional 53, no.1 (July 2010): 89-110. gov.uk, UK/Turkey: Security agreement concerning the protection of defense classified information, gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cs-turkey-no12016- ukturkeysecurity-agreement-concerning-the-protection-of-defence-classified-information (Accessed 18th January 2017) Parliament.uk, UK-Turkey relations and Turkey’s regional role written evidence from foreign and commonwealth office, Parliament.uk, http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmfaff/1567/1567we02.ht m (Accessed 18th January 2017) Read More

Turkey has made a substantial contribution to the security and defense of the Alliance and of Western Europe through guarding the Alliance’s Southern flank. Turkey has the longest border with Russia and hence it was responsible for guarding a third of the Alliance’s land frontiers against the Warsaw Pact. Turkey has also had security cooperation both in the Middle East and the Balkans, the Greece and Yugoslavia in 1954 as well as the Baghdad Pact of 1955 with Britain, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan that were aimed at consolidating of security in the respective regions.

In addition, Turkey is a founding member of the UN, it is a member of NATO and leading European institutions and as such has always pursued a proactive foreign policy that has helped it develop friendship and cooperation not just in its region but even beyond3. This is a way has served to enhance security. The Kurdish Problem The Turkish concept of security has always centered on ensuring the survival of the population, protection of territorial integrity and preservation of the basic identity of the nation.

It has always embodied a fear of loss of territory, geographical determinism and abandonment. In line with this security discourse, Turkey’s broadened security agenda in 1990s identified Islamism and Kurdish separatism as major security threats while use of national security was seen as vital in shaping political process by the military establishment. The Kurdish problem has however been the main source of political instability and existential threat to Turkey’s territorial integrity since 1980s.

The political establishment has always perceived the Kurdish question strictly as a security concern and a terrorism problem. This has seen the Kurdish demands being reject and there has been failure of constructive engagement of the Kurdish population which has in turn been the main hindrance to finding a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish conflict thus fixing this security issue permanently. The Kurdish problem is mainly concerning the securitization of Kurds demands and ethnic existence not only by the Turkish government and army but also by civilian bureaucracy, political parties, civil society organizations and the media.

It is however worth noting that efforts have been going on to resolve the Kurdish problem and de-securitization of the issue has happened during PKK ceasefire periods for instance between 2002-2005, 2009-2011 and 2013-2015. However, the Kurdish peace process is no more as it broke down in July 2015 as a result of disagreements between Turkey and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). As a result, PKK has brought military tactics honed in Syria to Turkey and this has sparked low-intensity urban warfare with Turkish Security forces which has resulted in a lot of deaths.

Despite these developments, the government still remains unbowed. The Kurdish Workers Party remains outlawed and Kurdish demands and issues remains unaddressed. The government to a large extent remains in dilemma since it considers that extending operations against PKK that has resulted back to its armed struggle with demands of autonomy along the Iraq and Syria borders will further alienate people living in the regions further complicating the security problem. On the other hand, PKK remains unbowed and will not easily give up the armed struggle for that and it would want to bring Turkey’s security forces face to face with civilians in towns as opposed to militants in mountains.

Thus, as long as the government does not find an amicable solution to the Kurdish problem, it will continue being a major security challenge for Turkey. This is because the Kurds will always fight and unless there is cease fire, Turkey cannot assume to be at peace with itself. The war in Syria and Turkey’s relationship with Russia The civil war is Syria has probably been the greatest contributor to the deterioration of security in Turkey. It is however argued that Turkey is largely to blame for this.

Read More