Democratic Republic of Turkey

The Democratic Republic of Kurdistan (Kurdish: دێمەكراتيك ريپەبلەك ئەڤ كێديستان), more commonly known as simply Kurdistan is a nation located on both the boarders of South East Europe and Western Asia, making up the northwest of Middle East. It boarders the nations of and  to the south,  to the west,  to the north,  to the northeast, and  and  to the east. Kurdistans location makes it strategically impotent of a geo-political scale, and it is considered a regional power.

Comprising of the historic territories of Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan and Cyprus, Kurdistan has historically been significant, being the centrepoint of power for the Ancient Anatolian civilizations, as well as Iraqi Kurdistan being part of some of the oldest civilizations in the world along the Mesopotamia. Most notably Kurdistan was the seat of power for the Ottoman empire, a world power that encompassed Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The empire collapsed after WWI, forming in its stead the Republic of Turkey.

Modern Kurdistan was formed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PPK) after a 1980 Soviet backed coup d'état, which established the state in the eastern region of Turkey. In 1992 the entire of Turkey was unified under Kurdish rule, with the acquisition of Iraqi Kurdistan taking place in 2007. In 2013 the insurgent terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was established on the boarder of the Iraqi Kurdistan administrative region and neighboring Syria, tearing the region into civil war and weakening the control of the PPK.

Kurdistan is a de jure , but in reality functions more as a  , with power concentrated in the hands of the General Secretary with the President playing a largely ceremonial role. Kurdistan has a stable economy and a large military, and is thought to be a nuclear weapons state (however this is unconfirmed by the Kurdish government.) It also is considered to be one of the only fully functioning socialist states in the world after the fall of the Soviet Union as well as one of the few secular Muslim majority countries, and is considered a regional power. Despite having a high HDI and social equality Kurdistan faces alleged persecution of minorities, heavy censorship laws and has been accussed on being totalitarian state.

History
Main article:History of Turkey

Although Kurdistan itself has only existed for little over 30 years its history stretches back to Palaeolithic times, with various inhabitants occupying the region once known as Turkey, most famously being the seat of power for the Ottoman Empire.

Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods
The Kurdistan dominion known as Turkey has been inhabited by people since the Palaeolithic period, with the first evidence of human activity coming from archaeological evidence dating back 27,000 years ago. The Anatolia region of Turkey housed several civilizations, with Neolithic settlements from that period including Çatalhöyük, Çayönü, Nevali Cori, Hacilar, Göbekli Tepe, and Mersin. The region of Thrace also has traces of Neolithic inhabitants with the Thracians functioning as a group of Indo-European tribes.

Bronze and Iron ages
During the Bronze age this region of Turkey was occupied by the Akkadian Empire around 1900BC. During the middle of the Bronze Ages Turkey was taken over by the Old Assyrian Empire, as well as the Hittite Old Kingdom.

During the Iron Age Ionian Greeks settled into the regions of Anatolia. In the following centuries Greek city states were established in Anatolia, with Pre-Socratic philosophy originating there. The mysterious Phrygian Kingdom was located in Anatolia, formed after the fall of the Hittite Kingdom.

Kingdom of Lydia
In western Anatolia the kingdom of Lydia (or Maeonia) was formed around 1300 BC by the Atyad dynasty, with their successors being the Heraclid dynasty, who controlled the region whilst Greek presence in the Mediterranean steadily increased. Eventually the king of Lydia, Candaules, was murdered by a man named Gyges, who seized power before declaring war on the Greeks. This opened the kingdom to attacks made by the Cimmerians, which led to the takeover of Phrygia, which was encompassed into Lydian territory. By 560 BC the Cimmerians were driven out, with King Croesus invading Persia. Croesus was defeated by Cyrus II in 546 BC during the Battle of Thymbra.

Achaemenid Empire
After Croesus's defeat at Thymbra, Persian king Cyrus moved into Lydia, taking its capital Sardis. Various dominions of Lydia as well as the kingdom of Ionia initially resisted Persian rule, was eventually was forced to submit. These territories were incorporated into the Persian ruled Achaemenid Empire, with Anatolia being absorbed into Persia both politically and culturally, with satraps (local governors) ruling over the people.

In 502 BC a revolt on the similarly Persian ruled island of Naxos enabled Ionian satrap Aristagoras of Miletu to unearth plans to obtain Naxos's wealth, aiming to spilt it with Lydia's satrap Artaphernes. Aristagoras failed in this endeavour, disturbing the Persian state, causing Aristagoras to start the Ionian revolution, allying with the Greek state of Athens. After the destruction of Sardis Persian King Darius I retook Ionia, ending the uprising.

Carian satrap Hecatomnus was more successful in controlling his own state, paying his tithes to the Persian yet increasing the influence of his family in local politics, with his son Mausolus continuing his fathers plans. Moving the capital from Mylasa to Halicarnassus, Mausolus claimed that he would offer protection to the islands of Chios, Kos, and Rhodes with his powerful naval forces. Mausolus died before his plans for expansion were fully realised, with his tomb, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus located in Bodrum, being one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Caria remained in Hecatomnus's families hands until the arrival of Alexander the Great.

Pre-Hellenistic and Pre-Roman period in Thrace
By 500BC Greek historian Herodotus named the Thracian people to be one of the most populous people on the planet, second only to the Indian people. Herodotus further claimed they could be the most powerful people on the Earth, but their lack of unity denied them of that title. The Thracian people were spread across numerous tribes and city states, such as the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace and the Dacian kingdom of Burebista. The Thacian people often clashed with the Greeks, as well show animosity towards the Persians and the steadily expanding kingdom of Macedonia.

Hellenistic period
In 336BC Alexander the Great was crowned king of Macedon. Alexander began to expand his military forces so to combat the Persian empire. He first attacked the Persians on the coast of Anatolia, routing their forces before driving them out of Lydia and Ionia. Alexander rather then openly face the Persian fleet systematically took every city on the Mediterranean coast, before liberating Phyrgia, Cappadocia, and Cilicia. Alexander defeated the forces of Darius III in the Battle of Issus, effectively ending Persian rule within Anatolia.

In 323BC Alexander died suddenly, causing a power vacuum within his empire. Ptolemy, one of Alexander's lieutenants and founder of the Ptolemaic Empire seized power within southern Anatolia, while Lysimachus, another of Alexander's officers, took control of western Anatolia and Thrace. Finally Seleucus claimed the rest of Anatolia as part of the Seleucid Empire.

Republic of Turkey
The direct predecessor of Kurdistan was the Republic of Turkey, founded by national hero Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923 after WWI and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, with national reforms leading Turkey into economical prosperity. Turkey remained neutral during WWII, before entering a strenuous treaty with the USA agreeing to oppose the Soviet Union in return for military aid. Turkey soon became the main military bulwark against the Soviet Union in the Mediterranean. In 1974 Turkey forcibly ousted Greek forces from the island nation of Cyprus.

PKK coup d'état
In the 1970's Turkey had been rife with political and economical discourse, with leftists desiring a communist revolution, often engaging in conflict with right wing nationalists. In the southern regions of Turkey the Soviet Union had covertly begun to fund the Kurdistan Workers' Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, or PKK). The PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan, was advised by the Soviets to transform the organisation in a paramilitary force, with the People's Defence Force (Hêzên Parastina Gel, or HPG) behind founded shortly afterwards. Forming a alliance with members of the left wing movement Devrimci Yol the PKK assassinated Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren who, according to KGB agents in Turkey, was planning to initiate his own military coup d'état in a bid to ensure peace. The PKK were then able to gain the support of the military (again thanks to covert Soviet influence) before murdering Bülent Ecevit and Süleyman Demirel, the primary political leaders in Turkey as well as former president Fahri Korutürk, before installing Öcalan as both President and General Secretary after liquidating the parliament and government. On the 20th September the state of the Democratic Republic of Kurdistan was established, with Öcalan signing the constitution of Kurdistan.

Reforms
One of Öcalan's first duties was to reform the economy. To achieve this Öcalan relied on Soviet loans whilst slowly running private businesses off of Kurdistan soil, increasing the public sector as part of a long term plan to transform Kurdistan into a fully socialist state. Kurdistans home exports (such as agricultural products, textiles, etc) were traded internationally, but were primarily used to cater towards the native populace of the country.

Kurdistan also faced a rift to be created between it and the first world as it openly allied with the soviet Union. The US government especially considered the loss of Turkey to be an act of war, but reached a compromise when Öcalan only hours after the coup announced that he would allow US forces to move out of the Incirlik airbase before demolishing it, as well as gifting the western Turkey independence.

This process was inevitably slow, with Kurdistan facing increasing civil unrest during this period. Öcalan enforced conscription for all citizens aged 18-21 in Kurdistan, rapidly expanding the military to pacify the workers. He then started to increase taxes upon the wealthy, before creating fairer wages for the workers and encouraging unions. However, Öcalan's actions were to slow moving for most of the populace. On February 13th, 1985, Öcalan was assassinated by Turkish nationalists. Şahin Uzun, the Chairman of the National Defence Committee of Kurdistan, enforced martial law until a new President was elected. On August 22nd, Acting General Secretary Yavuz Peynirci was voted into power, despite accusations that he had bribed numerous officials in order to secure his appointment.

Peynirci administration
Peynirci, in contrast to Öcalan's steadier approach to economics radically changed the economy, enforcing mandatory labour for all citizens as well as open trading links with the USA (although no US company was permitted to set up on Kurdistan soil). When facing significant opposition for this policy Peynirci set up the Kurdistan Internal Security Force (KISF), a branch of the Kurdistan Internal Intelligence Force, being used as the state police. Peynirci was able to silence the majority of his naysayers, stating his actions were counter-terrorist measures.

In 1988 Peynirci officially announced to the nation that he would be having a diplomatic meeting with US president Ronald Reagan. Peynirci confirmed the meeting would be in relation to Kurdistans recent nuclear program. Reportedly negotiations with Reagan were tense, with Reagan at one point threatening to move troops into Kurdistan if they developed nuclear weapons. However, eventually a non-aggression treaty was signed, much to the ire of both the American and Kurdistan publics.

Reunification of Turkey
In 1992 shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union Kurdistan made a formal alliance with Western Turkey, with Western Turkey voluntarily becoming part of Kurdistan. The USA questioned this decision, with Western Turkey quickly requesting the removal of American troops stationed in Turkey, as well as giving up nuclear weapons belonging to NATO. However Kurdistan subsequently announced that it would be aiming to improve formal relationships between itself and the West, stating that the reunification was merely an action designed to reunite the country under one flag. As well as this Kurdistan promised it would start a policy of disarmament.

Administrative divisions
Kurdistan is divided primarily to three "main" administrative regions-that of Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan and Cyprus. Turkey (sometimes referred to as "Greater Kurdistan") is often regarded as being part of "true" Kurdistan with its citizens receiving a higher standard of health care, as well as where the majority of governmental actions take place. Cyprus is used as Kurdistan's "neutral ground" where the bulk of foreign diplomacy is directed to, as well as being the main destination for tourism in Kurdistan. Iraqi Kurdistan meanwhile has been plagued by civil unrest ever since it was forcibly occupied, and is closed off to all foreign observers. Each of these regions are further spilt into smaller administrative regions (known as provinces).

Unlike other countries these provinces are not smaller states with semi-independent leadership. Rather all leadership in Kurdistan is centralised to the ruling party, with the local government of a province largely making sure day-to-day life runs smoothly. This means all laws and rights are universal across Kurdistan in theory. However, each of the three main administrative regions (Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan and Cyprus) are governed slightly differently by their premier.

Politics
Fundamentally an autocracy, Kurdistan is a single-party Stalinist dictatorship, with its sole ruling party being the Kurdistan Workers Party (PPK). The President is the head of state and General Secretary is the head of government as well as the leader of the PPK. The PPK and the Kurdistan government are practically interchangeable, with the party controlling all aspects of Kurdistan, insinuating criticisms bemoaning it as authoritarian and totalitarian.

Originally Kurdistan politics revolved around a Marxist-Leninist ideology, but over time a more Stalinist approach has been favoured. Current President/General Secretary Şahin Uzun has openly stated his admiration to the Soviet state and is a noted Stalin apologist.

Although theoretically the President is the head of state, in reality this is more of a ceremonial position with the true power belonging to the General Secretary who often has absolute power over the state, as well as the power to create new laws (although the president must approve of them). The General Secretary usually functions as the head of the Central Committee of the Kurdistan Workers Party, the highest authority within the PPK, and thus controls the government. For all intents and purposes whoever holds the General Secretary is often regarded as a dictator, as any decision made by them is ultimately obeyed, with only the President having any official authority to remove the General Secretary from power.

There is no direct subordinate to the General Secretary, instead there being a few key roles within parliament. Often the most important of these is the position of Premier of Turkey, whose primary duty is to be the General Secretaries chief deputy in the Turkish dominion, as well as the Premiers of Iraq and Cyprus, who perform similar duties in the Iraqi Kurdistan and Cyprus region. Other key figures include the Chairman of the National Defence Committee of Kurdistan, who is effectively the head of the military.

Elections
Local elections for party representatives are held every two years, with all citizens over the age of 18 allowed to vote unless they are incarcerated or deemed mentally unstable. Every four years elections are held for each administrative division, and every ten on a national scale.

Foreign relations
Kurdistan has officially maintained good relationship with the Russian Federation and its predecessor the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, with well established trade routes. General Secretary Uzun publicly voiced his support over the actions of Vladimir Putin during the 2014 Ukraine crisis, loaning Russia Kurdistan troops to reinforce Russian forces. Kurdistan is not a member of NATO, but retains membership with the United Nations. Kurdistan renounced its European Union membership shortly after its inception. After the forcible take over of Iraqi Kurdistan Kurdistan removed that countries status as part of the Arab league, and have gone on to criticise the organisation due to its leading member, Saudi Arabia, being to "Pro-American". Kurdistan has excellent economic relations with China, with much of Kurdistans imports going towards the Asian state.

Kurdistan possess tense relationships with the Western world, particularly the United States of America and the Kingdom of Sierra. However economic ties between the nations were established after the Cold War, with Kurdistan initially supporting US and Sierran action in Iraq, but have since criticised both nations for their continued military influence, adopting a more aggressive foreign policy.

Military
The Kurdistan armed forces are maintained by the National Defence Committee of Kurdistan, with its Chairman being recognised as the head of the military. The four main branches of the armed forces are the Kurdistan Army, the Kurdistan Airforce, the Kurdistan Navy, and the Kurdistan Coast Guard. The paramilitary organisation the Kurdistan Internal Security Force (KISF) serves as the state secret police.

Kurdistan enforces conscription for all citizens aged 18-21, who must serve at least 3 years in the armed forces. Failure to do so results in imprisonment and occasionally execution. Conscientious objection is not recognised by the state, and is seen as a way of avoiding service. Kurdistan spends around $49 billion on military expenditure per year.

Weapons of Mass destruction
Kurdistan as of 2014 is believed to have the capabilities of fielding nuclear weapons, with Kurdistan remaining silent on the matter.

Religion
Officially the state religion of Kurdistan is Atheism. However due to many of the population being Islamic (an estimated 98.7%) the government do not enforce this rule, with legal loopholes allowing mosques to exist. However as officially secularist nations no member of the PPK may be religious. As well as this the wearing of a hijab is banned in schools, government institutions and the military.

Despite action being rarely taken against Islam, Christians and Jews often are persecuted by the PPK, being recognised as criminals. As well as this, recent tensions in the Iraqi region caused by the rise of ISIS has led the PPK to take a harsher stance towards the Islamic faith, especially in Syria.