Abstract:

Hosting of PKK militants in 1980 by the Syrian regime marked the beginning of the relationship between the terrorist organization and Syria. The relationship between the two had continued from 1980 to October 1998 under the supervision of the Syrian regime, who used the PKK as a proxy against Turkey. In return, the Syrian connection provided the PKK with a safe haven in which it was able to establish its organizational structure, recruit militants and obtain financial and logistical support. However, the PKK’s safe haven within the Syrian borders came to an end in October 1998 when Turkey militarily threatened the regime for its support for the terrorist organization. As a result, ceasing its support for the terrorist organization, the regime banned the PKK’s activities within the Syrian region and arrested its militants. Thus, the conflict era that had lasted until 2011 emerged within the PKK-Syria relationship when the civil war broke out in Syria. Due to the Syrian civil war in 2011, the PKK-Syria relationship has embarked on a new phase. Losing control on the country, the regime was engaged in partnership with the terrorist organization and left vast areas in the northern part of Syria to the PKK. The terrorist organization is currently controlling a considerable part of the Syrian territory and population. In such an environment, the PKK repositioned itself as a partner of the Syrian regime rather than its proxy which was under the command of the regime officials as it was before 1998. In this regard, with the aim of portraying it as a process from proxy to conflict and conflict to partnership, this study aims to examine the changing characteristics of the relationship between the PKK and the Syrian regime.

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