The PKK impasse: Traversing the complex nature of Turkish-Swedish relations.

Sammanfattning: This thesis delves into the complex nature of Swedish-Turkish relations in the context of Sweden’s NATO-application, focusing primarily on the presence of the PKK in the bilateral relations. The dynamics of this framework, highlighted by Turkey’s veto to the Swedish NATO-application, signifies a trajectory where security is increasingly a prioritized domain in political agendas globally. This research employs the theoretical frameworks of constructivism and rational choice theory to help understand how aspects of identity and rational behavior explains the actions of the involved actors. The thesis takes the form of a case study utilizing a process-tracing method to establish a causal sufficient explanation to the Turkish veto. The thesis asks to what extent the PKK has been present in the relations between Turkey and Sweden and finds that there has been an impactful presence of the PKK in Swedish politics in recent years, lending validity to the Turkish veto. The causal processes of (1) The Swedish Social Democrats pledges to deepen its collaboration with the PYD, (2) The Swedish Inspectorate of Strategic Products revoke license for military exports to Turkey offer a descriptive explanation to the Turkish veto.