Book contents
- Understanding Insurgency
- Understanding Insurgency
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Map
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Kurdistan in Twentieth-Century Turkey
- 2 Theories of Insurgent Support
- 3 PKK Pre-conflict Mobilisation (1974–1984)
- 4 The PKK and Rural Insurgency
- 5 PKK Insurgency and the City
- 6 The PKK in Western Turkey
- Conclusion
- Appendix: Interview Index
- Bibliography
- Index
Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 August 2021
- Understanding Insurgency
- Understanding Insurgency
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Map
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Kurdistan in Twentieth-Century Turkey
- 2 Theories of Insurgent Support
- 3 PKK Pre-conflict Mobilisation (1974–1984)
- 4 The PKK and Rural Insurgency
- 5 PKK Insurgency and the City
- 6 The PKK in Western Turkey
- Conclusion
- Appendix: Interview Index
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The final chapter summarises the book's argument that insurgent groups’ ability to maintain popular support and legitimacy is a key dimension of their success or failure. It shows that the PKK, notwithstanding its ever decreasing military capacity, has proven resilient because of the strength of its relationship with its supportive constituency. It proceeds to assess the strength of the argument, explaining the challenges in demonstrating causality in the field of conflict studies. It further assesses whether the book's framework could possibly explain the evolution of the movement in the period after the timeframe of this book. It briefly gives an overview of changes in the PKK since Öcalan’s capture in 1999, including its dramatic ideological transformation, reconfigured structures, the growth of an affiliated Kurdish civil society, the strength of Kurdish political parties and their relationship with the PKK. It also looks at the PKK’s role in Syria and how its experiences there have shaped the conflict in Turkey.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Understanding InsurgencyPopular Support for the PKK in Turkey, pp. 219 - 229Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021