Mémoire
| Résumé : | The civil war in Syria had a huge consequence in the Middle East. This conflict has touched more than one country in the region. In this thesis, we are targeting our research on Turkey and Syria. In fact, we are trying to understand the military operations launched from Turkey to the north of Syria. Throughout this thesis, we have tried to answer the following question: “Why Turkey has intervened militarily in Northern Syria to establish a Safe Zone?”. To answer this question, we have advanced 2 hypothesis: 1. Turkey considers that the presence of its troops in Syrian soil was the only way for the recognition of his role and influence in Syria by « the International Community », in particularly, by Russia, United States and Iran (these countries have already their troops in the country at this moment). It was for Turkey to be recognized as a major actor of the Syrian crisis and to be a privileged interlocutor for the other powers present.2. Turkey intervenes militarily in Syria to eliminate enemies who threats the border and territory security of the country. The objective of Turkey through the military operations is to create a “Safe Zone” to secure its southern border and to stop the progression of Syrian Democratic Forces.We will begin our analysis by describing the organization of national security of the Republic of Turkey. Then, we will continue our research on the defense and security policies of the country in question. To do this, we will also analyze Turkey’s relations with NATO and the United States. This is important for understanding Turkey's future alliances during military operations. At the end of the first part, we will analyze Turkish diplomacy of the last 20 years under the reigns of AK Party and its founder Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. We will also compare Turkish diplomacy before the Arab Spring and after the start of the civil war in Syria. We will discuss ‘Strategic Depth’ concept of Ahmet Davutoğlu's and the transformation of Turkish diplomacy from ‘soft power’ to ‘hard power’. In the second chapter, we will analyze the plan and concept of the ‘Safe Zone’ and Turkish military operations in northern Syria. Precisely, we will define the concept of ‘Safe Zone’ and try to understand the proposal of ‘Safe Zone’ by the Turkish government. For that, we must also know the actors of this conflict. The belligerents that we will study throughout this thesis are; the Syrian government represented by its president Bashar Al-Assad, the Syrian opposition including the former Free Syrian Army and the new Syrian National Army. We will add to these two actors the Islamist groups including the Islamic State and the Kurdish forces represented by PYD, SDF, YPG and even by the PKK. Finally, the last part of this chapter would be devoted to military operations launched by Turkey in northern Syria. From 2016 to 2019, 3 military operations were launched in northern Syria. First, the military operation ‘Euphrates Shield’ has targeted the Jarablus region. This operation was launched against the Islamic State. The operation took place for 8 months and ended in the city of Al-Bab. The second military operation was called ‘Olive Branch’ but it is also known as ‘Battle of Afrin’. This battle lasted 2 months and ended with the capture of the city of Afrin from the Kurdish forces. Finally, the operation ‘Peace Spring’ took place in October 2019 and ended with the capture of the cities of Tel-Abyad and Ras Al-Ayn.Finally, in the last chapter, we will bring back an answer to our hypotheses based on the realist theory of international relations. In fact, we will define this current and analyze these concepts. In this thesis, you will find 6 different concepts of realism. Therefore, the concepts we have analyzed are; national interest and state power, the rational choice, anarchy and survival, the national security, hegemonial power and regional power. Using the realist theory and its concepts, we will answer the following question: « Why Turkey has intervened in Syria to establish a Safe zone? ». For this, we will make an analysis of speeches on the declarations of the Turkish government and more precisely of its president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. However, we have predefined some concepts of realism in order to answer the hypotheses. Thus, we will answer the hypotheses from the following concepts; national security as objectives, eliminate enemies, border security and territorial integrity, stop the progression of Kurdish forces, role and influence, increase influence and recognition by the International community. |
