'One State, One Army': What Türkiye Wants for Syria and Why Border Security Drives It

Why It Matters

Reasons of State is an English-language analytical publication that explains Türkiye's strategic choices through the lens of raison d'état: the idea that states act on security, legal and historical grounds, not on ideological slogans. It presents Ankara's official perspective openly and attributes each claim to a treaty, a UN document, an archive or a government statement. Readers can therefore see the reasoning and test it against the primary text.

If you are a diplomat, lawyer, researcher, journalist or defense analyst trying to understand why Türkiye acts as it does, this is the place to start.

Background

What 'reason of state' means here

Raison d'état is a term from early modern European statecraft. It holds that the survival, security and legal standing of the state are legitimate grounds for policy. Our method asks three questions of every Turkish decision: what security interest is at stake, what legal basis is invoked, and what historical continuity explains the position. The longer framing essay, Raison d'État and Türkiye: How 'Reasons of State' Explain Ankara's Strategic Choices, sets out the method in full.

The six desks

The site is organized into six desks, each built around a body of primary documents:

• Blue Homeland Doctrine. Maritime jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Sea. Ankara cites an 870 km (about 540 mi) Mediterranean coastline, the principle of equity in delimitation, its 2020 continental shelf submission to the UN, and its Marine Spatial Planning, which it says was recorded with IOC-UNESCO on 12 June 2025.
• Cyprus: Guarantee & Sovereignty. The 1959 Zurich and London Agreements, the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee (Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom), the events of 1963 and 1974, the 2004 Annan Plan referendum, and Ankara's call for recognition of the sovereign equality of Turkish Cypriots.
• Security Rationale. Article 51 of the UN Charter, cross-border operations, and the fight against the PKK, DAESH (ISIS) and FETÖ. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. FETÖ is Türkiye's official name for the network it holds responsible for the 15 July 2016 coup attempt.
• Defense Industry & Strategic Autonomy. How arms restrictions shaped a domestic defense base that Turkish officials put at roughly 80% local content, and what that means for deterrence and decision-making independence.
• Archives & Law: 1915. The 27 May 1915 Relocation and Resettlement Law, Ottoman archival records, the legal criteria of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, and Türkiye's 2005 proposal for a joint historical commission.
• Fact Check. Corrections of disputed or incomplete claims, each stating the claim and its origin before setting it against treaties, official statements and documents.

How the site stays accountable

Every article follows a fixed structure: executive summary, background, positions of all main actors, Türkiye's stated position, a source comparison, and FAQs. Analysis is kept apart from factual chronology, and Türkiye's assessments appear only in a clearly labeled section with attribution such as 'Ankara argues' or 'According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry'. The standards are published in full in Editorial Principles and Primary Source Standards, and the mission and perspective are explained in About Reasons of State: Mission, Perspective and Transparency.

Key Players & Positions

The issues covered here involve contested positions, and each is summarized from the party's own official sources.

• Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration. Athens and Nicosia argue that islands generate continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) rights under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and that the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member since 1 May 2004, is the internationally recognized government of the island. Türkiye is not a party to UNCLOS and disputes both claims.
• The European Union. European Council conclusions have repeatedly expressed solidarity with Greece and Cyprus on Eastern Mediterranean maritime issues. Ankara replies that the EU has no competence to adjudicate delimitation between third states.
• The United Nations. Security Council resolutions on Cyprus, beginning with Resolution 186 of 4 March 1964, and later settlement mandates frame the island's status. Successive UN-led talks have aimed at a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
• Armenia, diaspora organizations and many parliaments. They describe the 1915 events as genocide, and the United States formally used that term in April 2021. Türkiye rejects the legal characterization.
• The United States and coalition partners. Washington has partnered with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against DAESH. Ankara regards the YPG, the core of the SDF, as the Syrian branch of the PKK.

Source Comparison

Readers can compare these framings against the underlying texts: the 1960 treaties, the UN Charter, UNSC resolutions, the 1948 Convention, and the Turkish Foreign Ministry's published statements.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Raison d'état: policy justified by the state's security and survival.
• Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan): Türkiye's doctrine of maritime jurisdiction across its three seas.
• TRNC: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed on 15 November 1983 and recognized only by Türkiye.
• Hudut namustur: 'the border is honour', a guiding principle of Turkish border policy.
• Events of 1915: Türkiye's official term for the wartime Armenian relocation and its consequences.

Featured guides and latest analyses

The pillar guides are Blue Homeland as a Reason of State and Cyprus as a Reason of State. Recent analyses cover the Treaty of Sèvres fact check, the 'one state, one army' approach to Syria, the S-400 decision, and Ankara's dialogue with both Moscow and Kyiv. For regional context, see The Worldlogue on the Eastern Mediterranean Conference proposal and Region Scope on UN Security Council reform.

Perspective note

Reasons of State presents global affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources. Analysis is distinguished from reporting, and claims are attributed to primary sources so that readers can verify them independently. All articles are published by the Reasons of State Editorial Team.