Kurds at a Crossroads as Middle East Shifts
Syrian Kurdish military leader Mazloum Abdi’s recent meeting with top Kurdish officials of northern Iraq points to the region’s shifting political landscape. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander...
Abdullah Öcalan
When Erdoğan Shifted Focus to the Kurds in Syria
2015 marked a change in the Syria policy of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He began to walk back his initial goal of toppling the Asad regime and turned towards Syria’s surging Kurdish forces....
Op-eds
Erdoğan’s Long Game in Syria
When Bashar al-Asad’s regime abruptly collapsed in December 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saw more than just a regional upheaval. He saw a long-awaited opportunity. With Iran’s...
Op-eds
Why No States for the Druze or the Kurds?
Self-determination in the Middle East is inconsistent. For Muslim Palestinians, statehood is seen as an unfulfilled destiny. Yet for religious minorities like the Druze or ethnic groups like the Kurds,...
Op-eds
The PKK abandons armed struggle
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a secessionist campaign against Turkey since 1978, announced on May 12 its decision to end its armed struggle. Under the leadership of Abdullah...
Op-eds
‘Resolved to Dissolve’: Kurdish PKK to Disarm and Disband in Apparent Peace Effort With Turkey
Kurdish Armed Group to Disband: The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announced its decision to disband on May 12, in a reported step toward peace following more than four decades of...
Flash Briefs
‘We’re Free People’: Protests Erupt in Turkey Over Arrest of Main Rival to Erdogan
Imamoglu Charged: Istanbul MayorEkrem Imamoglu, the main rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was formally arrested on March 23 and charged with corruption. Imamoglu,...
Flash Briefs
Why did Syria’s Kurds sign a deal with the new regime?
On March 10, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) signed an agreement with Syria’s interim government, integrating the SDF’s 100,000-strong, predominantly Kurdish force into the new Syrian...
Op-eds
How will the US-backed SDF be affected by PKK leader’s disarmament call?
On February 27, Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan called for the group to disarm and end its conflict with Turkey, according to a message he released from prison.
Op-eds
10 Things to Know About Turkey’s Interventions and Influence in Syria
Turkey intends to position itself as the most influential foreign actor in Syria. Following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey built close ties with jihadist militias fighting Bashar...
Insights
A suppressed voice for truth from within the United Nations
Alice Nderitu sought to make forgotten conflicts in the world a topic of discussion and action, but everyone wanted her to focus on what she wouldn’t call a genocide in Gaza.
Op-eds
The United States Should Unambiguously Embrace Our Kurdish Partners
Since the United States took the bold decision to partner with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in 2015, our NATO ally Turkey has accused us of working with (what it perceives to be) “terrorists.”...
Op-eds
Behind the Black Bloc
An Overview of Militant Anarchism and Anti-Fascism
Monographs
Erdogan Gambles on Winning Back Istanbul, Kurdish Loyalties
Turkey’s Supreme Election Council ruled...
Policy Briefs
Kurd Your Enthusiasm
On October 16, the world woke to footage of the Iraqi army barreling toward Kirkuk, several hundred miles n...
Op-eds
Why is Turkey so disjointed over the Iraqi Kurds?
Iraq’s Kurds are preparing ...
Op-eds
Islamic State Networks in Turkey
Download the full report here. Introduct...
Monographs
Erdogan’s Great Gamble
Something quite extraordinary -- perhaps even historic -- is afoot in Turkey. The country's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is engaged in a colossal roll of the political dice, an act...
Op-eds
A Foreign Policy Without Principle or Prudence
After almost a week of exchanging fire with Syrian troops across its southern border, Turkey finds itself embroiled on another, albeit related, international front. Wednesday the Turkish air forc...
Op-eds
Syria Ruffles Turkey’s Feathers
The attack by Syrian regime thugs on Turkish missions in Syria last Saturday has spurred a strong rebuke and warnings from Ankara. However, while this may have been the most open Syrian attack ag...