Publication

Under Erdoğan Turkey has made substantial progress towards resolving its Kurdish issue. However, in early 2013 the "Kurdish Opening" seems to have stalled. The brief discusses internal developments like the 2014 Turkish elections and the growing willingness to discuss the issue both politically and through (social) media. It also addresses the external dimension of the issue, pointing at Turkey's rocky relations with its neighbors (Iraq, Iran, and Syria), and Turkey’s fear that these states may promote anti-Turkish interests through supporting the PKK. It lastly notes the negative effect the Kurdish question has had on the relations between Israel and Turkey.