Territorial Integrity of Turkey and the PKK Peace Process

Abstract: The thesis examines the undergoing peace process in Turkey between the Turkish state and the PKK organisation and seeks to assess how this development is affected by one of the principles of the Turkish national state: territorial integrity. Examining the preservation of territorial integrity as a factor shaping the pacification is crucial to understanding the dynamics of the current peace process and how distant the prospect of achieving a long lasting peace is. I investigate the PKK peace process using the works of scholars developing on conflict resolution and the specificities of Turkish politics and I address the relevance of their theories to the case of the PKK.