The most critical consequence of the Syrian uprising for Turkey is the “regionalization of the Turkey’s Kurdish problem.”  Last July after the Damascus regime abandoned most parts of the Kurdish region, Syrian Kurds took over the control of Kurdish-populated towns and villages and launched an experiment in autonomy that is ongoing. 

There is a powerful reason why this development means regionalization of Turkey’s own Kurdish problem:  The Democratic Union Party [PYD] that is steering developments in Syria’s Kurdish region has the largest popular base, is the best organized and has the strongest military arm, and it is the Syrian branch of Kurdish Workers Party [PKK] that has been waging armed struggle against Turkey’s central authority for the past 28 years.

If the rulers of Turkey for the past 30 years had been able to come up with a workable and comprehensive solution approach to Turkey’s Kurdish problem and if they had made some progress in this direction, today they wouldn’t be fearing a threat from autonomy aspirations of the Syrian Kurds. What is more, such a development could have even served Turkey’s interests.

But Turkish rulers did not succeed in moving towards a solution of the country’s Kurdish problem and as a result now they perceive threats endangering Turkey’s security from developments in Syria’s Kurdish region.