Turkey’s Syria Policy and the Kurds: Resisting Temptation

Events involving the Syrian Kurds, served as a stark reminder of the many obstacles still before Turkey’s Syria policy and its decades-old Kurdish problem. At least two questions raised in the ongoing debate are of particular note, corresponding to two distinct lines of criticism against the government’s handling of Syrian conflict and Kurdish demands. Did Turkey fail to take note of the Kurdish dimension its Syria policy? And would Turkey adopt a security-oriented approach to Kurdish demands?