Publication

This brief considers how the rekindling of hostilities between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) could impact the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Syria, and the fight against the so-called Islamic State (IS). Ultimately, the brief's author argues that existing hostilities between Turkey and the PKK could 1) spill over into northern Syria, 2) increase tensions between rival Kurdish groups in Iraq, and 3) thereby undermine efforts against IS. To prevent the latter possibility, the author argues that the EU should step in and try to revive the Turkish-PKK peace process and additionally clarify its policies towards the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG).