Turkey is descending ever further into chaos. The ruling AKP’s policy on Syria has led to the rise of extremist Islamist groups within Turkey’s borders and introduced serious tensions into its relations with Russia, as the Turkish state wages war again in North Kurdistan and cracks down on every form of opposition.

How did the war escalate so quickly? Only a year ago, representatives of the state and the Kurdish movement presented their first written agreement at a press conference held in Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace. Shortly thereafter, the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) — an alliance of the Kurdish liberation movement and left and democratic forces in Turkey — concluded a triumphant campaign in the June elections.

Yet within months the Turkish state launched a full-fledged war in the southeast of the country against organizations affiliated with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and the civilian Kurdish population. These recent developments are an expression of a hegemony crisis for the AKP that threatens to spin out of control.