The past month has seen mind-boggling developments in northern Syria involving the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG). For Ankara, the most glaring unintended consequence of the now static Operation Peace Spring is the newfound legitimacy of the YPG in Western public opinion.

The YPG is an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey, the United States and many Western powers consider a terrorist organization. However, the YPG has gained great sway in the eyes of the Western public thanks to its success in the war on the Islamic State (IS), particularly its contribution to the raid targeting the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

According to many in the West, the PYD and YPG are “freedom fighters” defending humanity and Western civilization against the barbarism of IS. They are seen as the West's lone partners in Syria. 

Before the Kurds’ fight against IS began in 2011, the concept of Rojava — also known as Syrian Kurdistan — was just a PKK-inspired idea intended to forge a collective Kurdish identity. Today it is a brand gaining global recognition.