Syria and Turkey Today

Paper Summary:

Syria and Turkey are connected by a long history of mutual antagonisms and irreconcilable conceptions of the political and regional role of the other. To this day, there is often resentment for what Syria and other Arab countries consider to be "Ottoman high-handedness" over Turkey's reported efforts to exert regional ambitions. Divided by ethnic, ideological, and political lines, a common ground for agreement building has been difficult to establish. This paper surveys the key areas of friction between the two countries and tracks the nature of Syria's relationship with Turkey from the period when both countries emerged as independent modern nations in the early to mid 20th century to recent times. Many of the problems affecting the relationship between the two states today are rooted in the past. The paper examines the origins and history of this conflict, explores how seemingly diverse issues are actually interconnected, and observes how past attempts toward conflict resolution may assist in any similar attempts at reconciliation in the future.

From the Paper:

"Syria's relationship with Turkey has been very temperamental, passing through a number of tense periods that nearly resulted in full-scale war between the two. When the Ottoman Empire fell, the French and British were competing for control of the Levant. Turkey under the leadership of Attaturk was able to salvage enough of the Ottoman institutions and emerge as a fairly strong regional power. Syria's struggle to gain independence was more difficult and the French were not so inclined to give up control. In 1939, with the rise of Nazi Germany, the French Mandatory authorities sought to induce Ankara into a neutral position toward the pending European conflict by ceding the province of Alexandretta to Turkey. Alexandretta, known as Hatay to the Turkish, was part of the Syrian province (sanjak) under the Ottomans. Syrian political elites see the province of Alexendretta as demographically and historically part of their country. The Syrians have never accepted Turkish sovereignty over this territory and the issue of Alexandretta remains a sticking point between Syria and Turkey. Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, reportedly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have occasionally conducted peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights."

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