Historical Roots of Terrorism and Challenges to Turkey's Territorial Sovereignty
Abstract
This thesis examines the historical roots and significance of Turkey s decades-long struggle with terrorism. It argues that current perceptions of terrorism in Turkey are due to historical challenges to the country s territorial sovereignty. These challenges are rooted in the aborted Treaty of Sevres at the end of World War I. Framed as a historical survey, this thesis concludes that terrorism in Turkey has been perceived as a threat to the territorial integrity of the state due to the legacy of territorial loss during the end of the Ottoman Empire and the nationalist separatist movements during the early Republican period. Although significantly different from early separatist movements, the threats posed by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) have been interpreted as an outgrowth of the irredentism and imperialism embedded in the Treaty of Sevres. As Turkey encounters new threats from religiously-motivated terrorism, policymakers continue to view separatist terror as the foremost threat and a continuation of this historical trend.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA619602
Entities
People
- Emily A. Burke
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School