Not only Relational but also Structural: Revisiting there solution of the 1998 October crisis through elements of structural power

Sarı, Buğra

The 1998 October Crisis between Turkey and Syria has long beenstudied in various aspects. However, these studies are limited to anunderstanding that depicts the crisis as a relational power relation-ship in which Turkey forced Syria to cease its support for the PKK,which Syria would not have done otherwise. While not rejecting therelational explanation, this paper attempts to complement it witha structural approach, drawing on the post-positivist structuralpower conceptualization, by investigating how Syria’s structurallyshaped subjective interests in the post-Cold War international struc-ture and norms regarding international terrorism disempowered it resisting Turkey’s demands.