The original Turkish concerns about developments in Northern Iraq

Abstract

After the invasion of Iraq by the U.S., Iraq is undergoing significant transition that no one can predict the future perfectly. Such changes in Iraq will lead to the increasing concerns from neighboring countries including Turkey, Iran, and Arab states. Especially, there are historical, demographical, political and geostrategic contexts of Turkey‟s longstanding interests in the developments taking place in Iraq; treaties between Turkey and British related to Mosul that goes back to the 1920s, close cultural ties with Turkmen or Iraqi Turk who has lived in mostly northern Iraq, the direct threat of PKK who has stationed in northern Iraq to Turkey and an increased instability of security structure in Middle East. This thesis aims to elaborate the original Turkish concerns of developments in northern Iraq with political, demographical, political and geo-strategic dimensions by taking facts into considerations. Also, in accordance with the assessment of Turkish foreign policy about northern Iraq in particular since 1990s, it attempts to understand Turkish policies about northern Iraq.