The Kurdish question in Turkey from 1999 to 2006: an analysis of the resurgence of an intransigent ethnic conflict

Abstract

The main purpose of this Master’s Essay is to identify and analyze the successive phases of the resurgence of the Turko-Kurdish ethnic conflict. The study puts a particular emphasis on the reemergence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after the capture of its leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999 up to the present days as well as the proposed solutions to the Kurdish Question in Turkey. The Essay also considers the underlying factors behind their ethnopolitical conflict and the overall stance of the Turkish government towards its Kurdish minority. The other dimensions of the Kurdish Question in Turkey are discussed as well. On the one hand, the Essay examines the Kurdish issue in the broader regional context, on the other, it assesses the role of the Kurdish factor in the relationships between Turkey and the United States. Finally, EU-Turkey relations are discussed since one of the key obstacles for Turkey’s EU integration is the Kurdish problem.