Skip to main content
  • Sections
  • Search

Center for Strategic & International Studies

User menu

  • Subscribe
  • Sign In

Topics

  • Cybersecurity and Technology
    • Cybersecurity
    • Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy
    • Military Technology
    • Space
    • Technology and Innovation
  • Defense and Security
    • Counterterrorism and Homeland Security
    • Defense Budget
    • Defense Industry, Acquisition, and Innovation
    • Defense Strategy and Capabilities
    • Geopolitics and International Security
    • Long-Term Futures
    • Missile Defense
    • Space
    • Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation
  • Economics
    • Asian Economics
    • Global Economic Governance
    • Trade and International Business
  • Energy and Sustainability
    • Climate Change and Environmental Impacts
    • Energy and Geopolitics
    • Innovation and New Energy Sources
    • Markets, Trends, and Outlooks
  • Global Health
    • Family Planning, Maternal and Child Health, and Immunizations
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Health and Security
    • Infectious Disease
  • Human Rights
    • Civil Society
    • Transitional Justice
    • Human Security
  • International Development
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Governance and Rule of Law
    • Humanitarian Assistance
    • Private Sector Development
    • U.S. Development Policy

Regions

  • Africa
    • North Africa
    • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Americas
    • Caribbean
    • North America
    • South America
  • Arctic
  • Asia
    • Afghanistan
    • Australia, New Zealand & Pacific
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Pakistan
    • Southeast Asia
  • Europe
    • European Union
    • NATO
    • Post-Soviet Europe
    • Turkey
  • Middle East
    • The Gulf
    • Egypt and the Levant
    • North Africa
  • Russia and Eurasia
    • The South Caucasus
    • Central Asia
    • Post-Soviet Europe
    • Russia

Sections menu

  • Programs
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Analysis
    • Blogs
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Congressional Testimony
    • Critical Questions
    • Interactive Reports
    • Journals
    • Newsletter
    • Reports
    • Transcript
  • Podcasts
  • iDeas Lab
  • Transcripts
  • Web Projects

Main menu

  • About Us
  • Support CSIS
    • Securing Our Future
Commentary
Share
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Printfriendly.com

Turkey Faces Growing Terrorist Threat

August 11, 2015

The series of attacks across Turkey yesterday, including at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, highlights the growing threat of domestic terrorism since it launched airstrikes against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq on July 24. It is interesting to note that the sustained Turkish air campaign began just hours after Ankara announced that it had finally agreed to cooperate militarily with the U.S.-led effort to confront the threat of ISIS.

Most of the terrorist incidents in Turkey since then have involved the PKK and the DHKP-C, a far left organization implicated in the bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara in February 2013. However, Turkey is now also on alert for attacks by ISIS, which had used a suicide bomber to kill 33 Turkish citizens at Suruc near the Turkish-Syrian border on July 20 prompting the major change in Turkey’s policy. U.S. warplanes have now been moved to Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey and are expected to begin operations against ISIS in Syria in the coming days.

All of this has occurred against a backdrop of continuing political impasse. Turkey has been run by a caretaker government since the June 7 elections in which the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since 2002. Prolonged talks between the AKP and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) have so far not produced an agreement on a coalition government. Consequently, there is intense speculation that the AKP would prefer early elections in which it would attempt to try to regain its majority by weakening the predominantly Kurdish Democratic Peoples’ Party (HDP) through association with the PKK.

For more on the terrorist threat in Turkey see Bulent Aliriza’s interviews with BBC World News and CCTV .

Bulent Aliriza is a senior associate and director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Commentary is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).

© 2015 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. All rights reserved.

Written By
Bulent Aliriza
Director and Senior Associate, Turkey Project
Media Queries
Contact H. Andrew Schwartz
Chief Communications Officer
Tel: 202.775.3242

Contact Emma Colbran
Communications and Program Manager
Tel: 202.775.3211
Related
Europe, Turkey, Turkey Project, Turkey Update

Most Recent From Bulent Aliriza

Commentary
Erdogan and Trump at the NATO Summit: Another Display of Solidarity
By Bulent Aliriza
December 5, 2019
Commentary
Trump-Erdogan Meeting: Abiding Friendship, Continuing Problems
By Bulent Aliriza
November 15, 2019
Critical Questions
Congress Rebukes Erdogan, Defies Trump
By Bulent Aliriza
October 30, 2019
In the News
After Trump's 'pinprick' Turkey sanctions, Congress reaches for sledgehammer, aims for Erdogan
USA Today | Deirdre Shesgreen
October 29, 2019
In the News
Some U.S. troops leave Syria, cross into Iraq under White House's orders
Yahoo News | CBS News Videos
October 21, 2019
In the News
Trump talks tough on Turkish economy, but actions so far fall short
Washington Post | David J. Lynch
October 15, 2019
In the News
Invasion of northeast Syria carries gain and risk for Turkey
Associated Press | Suzan Fraser
October 9, 2019
In the News
Trump defends decision to abandon Kurdish allies in Syria
Associated Press | Robert Burns, Lolita C. Baldor and Matthew Lee
October 8, 2019
View all content by this expert
Footer menu
  • Topics
  • Regions
  • Programs
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Analysis
  • Web Projects
  • Podcasts
  • iDeas Lab
  • Transcripts
  • About Us
  • Support Us
Contact CSIS
Email CSIS
Tel: 202.887.0200
Fax: 202.775.3199
Visit CSIS Headquarters
1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Media Queries
Contact H. Andrew Schwartz
Chief Communications Officer
Tel: 202.775.3242

Contact Emma Colbran
Communications and Program Manager
Tel: 202.775.3211

Daily Updates

Sign up to receive The Evening, a daily brief on the news, events, and people shaping the world of international affairs.

Subscribe to More CSIS Newsletters

Newsletter Subscription
Follow CSIS
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

All content © 2019. All rights reserved.

Legal menu
  • Credits
  • Privacy Policy
  • Reprint Permissions