Der „kurdische Faktor“ in der türkischen Außenpolitik
The "Kurdish Factor" in Turkish foreign policy

Summary/Abstract: The ambitious political aim of Turkey to have “no problems with the neighbors” has dramatically changed into the opposite: Today, Turkey is no longer a stronghold of peace and stability, but a source of trouble and conflicts. This situation has its reasons mainly in the problematic relationship between Turks and Kurds. The failure of Turkish politics not to have given recognition and minority rights to the Kurdish population caused the emergence of PKK and the long bloody war between PKK and the Turkish security forces. After PKK spread to other countries with an ethnic Kurdish population, Turkey soon came into conflicts with neighboring countries. In the case of Syria the main objective of Turkey is to prevent the development of a a PKK dominated Kurdish state south of the Turkish-Syrian border. On the other side Turkey has accepted the development of the Kurdish-state in Northern-Iraq. The reason therefore is that the Iraqi-Kurdish leadership is in opposition to PKK and Iraqi-Kurdistan is a flourishing market for Turkish export. Nevertheless Turkey continues bombarding parts of Northern-Iraq where headquarters of PKK continue to exist. Due to the fact that the Kurdish party HDP managed to enter the Turkish parliament in the last elections, Erdogan’s AKP lost its absolute majority. In reaction to this challenge he reinforced a repressive policy against HDP with the aim to kick it out of parliament in preliminary elections. This policy is being criticized by the international community because it implies the end of the Turkish-Kurdish peace-process.

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