Turkey at War‪?‬

As the dramatic suicide bombing in Suruç on July 20 confirmed, Turkey is increasingly exposed to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) and ISIS-inspired attacks on its own territory. Ankara now sees an opportunity to create a buffer zone, to roll-back ISIS from areas close to Turkey, but also to limit the freedom of action of PKK-affiliated Kurdish groups in Syria, and perhaps to help manage the steadily mounting problem of Syrian refugees entering Turkey. With regard to ISIS and the PKK, Turkey will seek reassurance from its NATO allies, and will regard solidarity on these threats as a key test of Alliance commitments. At the same time, NATO allies will be sensitive to the question of priorities in Turkey’s cross-border strategy. After years of ambivalence in strategic cooperation, Ankara may finally have turned to a coalition approach with its key security guarantors.