ABSTRACT
D EVELOPMENTS beyond Turkey have had a significant impact on the Kurdish question in the country. The trans-state nature of the Kurdish question must be taken into account. The massive exodus of refugees from northern Iraq in 1991 at the end of the Gulf War forced the world to focus its attention on the Kurds. This mass movement compelled Turkish decisionmakers to deal with the Kurds in northern Iraq. Officials in Ankara had previously been ignoring these people. The Kurdish question has complicated Turkey's relations with Iraq, Iran and Syria. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War signalled the beginning of a new era in international politics. In stark contrast with the past Western governments began to take a growing interest in Turkey's human rights performance at a time when violence between the Turkish security forces and the PKK escalated.
