Syrian Domino Effect: How Turkey Wants a Neo-Ottoman Empire Across the Middle East
After facilitating the fall of Assad in Syria, Turkey (Republic of Türkiye) is setting its sights on Iran. Turkish President Erdogan and his allies want to build a Neo-Ottoman sphere of influence by instigating the Azerbaijani minority in Iran and potentially striking a deal with an unlikely ally – the Kurds – to expand their […]
After facilitating the fall of Assad in Syria, Turkey (Republic of Türkiye) is setting its sights on Iran. Turkish President Erdogan and his allies want to build a Neo-Ottoman sphere of influence by instigating the Azerbaijani minority in Iran and potentially striking a deal with an unlikely ally – the Kurds – to expand their reach across multiple countries. While the Turkish government and the Kurds have a long history of conflict, the Kurdish desire for a unified state – which would include territory from Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran – could be used by Turkey to break these countries into autonomous regions and build a “Sunni axis” headquartered in Ankara. Will this imperial ambition spark new wars and regime changes in the Middle East? Will the United States and NATO stand by while Turkey becomes an imperialist power? Brian Becker is joined by Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP).
