The Syria Crisis and Turkey

Wise Men Board Report (BILGESAM), n° 52, October 2014
Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (BILGESAM)

Atilla Sandıklı and Ali Semin *

While the wave of uprisings, which began in 2011, led to regime changes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, it turned into a civil war between the Assad regime and the opposition forces in Syria. The Syria crisis has not remained within the borders of Syria, and has provoked disagreements at the regional and global levels. The crisis, which turned into a civil war when the Assad regime opened fire on its people after they had taken to the streets in order to call for reforms, has since affected Turkey directly and indirectly. Turkish decision-makers face a serious challenge in the south as the crisis led hundreds of thousands of Syrians to take refuge in Turkey.

* Assoc. Prof. Atilla Sandıklı and Ali Semin are research fellows at the Middle East Research Institute of BILGESAM

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