Turkey’s Emerging Dichotomy between Erbil and Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Development Road Project and the Fight Against the PKK

Year 2024, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 85 - 98, 30.04.2024

Özlem Kayhan Pusane

Abstract

The vast literature on Turkish foreign policy has long discussed Turkish policymakers’ policy preferences and initiatives vis-à-vis the Iraqi Kurds without making much of a distinction among various Iraqi Kurdish actors. Although Turkish political leaders built closer relations with certain Iraqi Kurdish actors than others from time to time, there has not been a major policy variation toward different political actors of Iraqi Kurdish politics until recently. However, especially from the 2017 Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum onwards, it has been possible to observe an increasing level of divergence between Turkey’s attitude and discourse vis-à-vis the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), two major political parties of the Iraqi Kurdish politics. While Turkey’s cooperation with the KDP in the struggle against the PKK has significantly increased in the past few years, Turkish officials’ uneasiness regarding the PUK ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) has been more and more apparent. This paper provides an account of Turkey’s changing attitude and discourse about the KDP and the PUK since 2017 within the context of the ongoing discussions about the Iraqi Dry Canal/Development Road project as well as Turkey’s fight against the PKK.

Keywords

Turkish foreign policy, Iraq, KRG, Development road

Türkiye’nin Erbil ve Süleymaniye Arasındaki İkili Karşıtlığı, Irak Kalkınma Yolu Projesi ve PKK ile Mücadele

Abstract

Türk dış politikasına yönelik ortaya çıkmış geniş literatür, farklı Iraklı Kürt aktörler arasında pek bir ayrım yapmaksızın, Türk politika yapıcıların Irak Kürtlerine ilişkin politika tercihlerini ve girişimlerini uzun süredir tartışmıştır. Her ne kadar Türk siyasi liderleri zaman zaman bazı Iraklı Kürt aktörlerle diğerlerinden daha yakın ilişkiler kurmuş olsa da, yakın zamana kadar Irak Kürt siyasetinin farklı siyasi aktörlerine yönelik olarak Türkiye açısından büyük bir politika farklılığı yaşanmamıştır. Ancak özellikle 2017 Irak Kürt bağımsızlık referandumundan itibaren Türkiye'nin Kürdistan Demokrat Partisi (KDP) ve Kürdistan Yurtseverler Birliği (KYB) karşısındaki tutum ve söylemleri arasında giderek artan düzeyde farklılıklar gözlemlemek mümkün olmuştur. Türkiye'nin PKK ile mücadelesinde KDP ile işbirliği son birkaç yıldır önemli ölçüde artmışken, Türk yetkililerin KYB'nin PKK ve YPG ile olan bağlarından duyduğu tedirginliğin düzeyi giderek yükselmiş ve daha belirgin hale gelmiştir. Bu makale, Irak ile Kuru Kanal/Kalkınma Yolu projesine ilişkin devam eden tartışmalar ve Türkiye'nin PKK ile mücadelesi bağlamında, Türkiye'nin 2017'den bu yana KDP ve KYB'ye yönelik değişen tutum ve söylemlerini ele almaktadır.

Keywords

Türk dış politikası, Irak, IKBY, Kalkınma yolu

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