In Brief: How Öcalan’s Call to Disarm the PKK Will Affect the Middle East

In February, Abdullah Öcalan — the long-imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — called on the group to lay down its arms and “dissolve itself” after more than 40 years of fighting Turkish forces. In an initial step, the PKK called for a ceasefire on March 1. In addition to significant implications for politics and security in Turkey, the development affects Kurds in Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Shifts in regional power structures over the last few months played a role in Öcalan’s decision, which in turn will help shape the geopolitics of the Middle East. We asked four