Location: Virtual Event - Zoom
Date: Tue, May 25
Time: 1300 ET
Cost: Free
Type: RSVP Required
Details: Threats Perceived and Real: New Data and the Need for a New Approach to the Turkish-SDF Conflict
Dr. Amy Austin Holmes evaluates border disputes in Northern Syria through the lens of the historical conflict between Turkey and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). She argues the Syrian conflict and creation of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has fundamentally transformed the Turkish-PKK conflict from one that was previously limited to the Turkish military and Kurdish militants in southeastern Turkey and the Qandil Mountains of Iraq – to one that now impacts civilians of every ethnic and religious group across a large region of northern Syria. The publication presents a new dataset based on official documents and the author's observations and interviews conducted in Northeast Syria. In her conclusion, Dr. Holmes puts forth that the United States government must renegotiate the 2019 ceasefire agreement with Turkey to ensure all sides are fulfilling the negotiation.