Developments in the Kurdish Issue in Syria and Turkey in 2017

In: European yearbook of minority issues, Band 16, Heft 1, S. 211-229

Abstract

This article explores the main political developments taking place in Kurdish politics in Syria and Turkey in 2017. It first focusses on the developments taking place in Syria and provides an account of the Kurds' ascendency there, including the establishment of a de facto Kurdish-led autonomous region in Syria's north and northeast. Then an account of Turkey's Kurdish conflict is provided, highlighting the positive developments during the 2000s and the first half of the 2010s that transformed it. However, since the summer of 2015 these positive developments have been reversed with an acceleration of violence in the conflict. In conclusion, I briefly assess the future prospects for the Kurds in Syria and Turkey in light of the developments connected to the ongoing Syrian conflict and the wider region.