An evaluation of the military operations carried out by Türkiye to the North of Syria between 2015-2020 in the context of the law of use of force

While many new threats emerge globally, old threats remain problematic for states by increasing their influence. International terrorism, one of the most shocking threats to the current world order and international politics, is a problem that is expanding its threat level for states and individuals. States, international organizations and other actors are fighting global terrorism effectively. In particular, states fight against international terrorism as stand-alone actors and through international organizations. While even a common definition of terrorism has not been made, actors naturally have different ideas about the fight against terrorism. States carry out military operations to protect their sovereignty, citizens and territory in the fight against international terrorism, and they base this on legal grounds. Because one of the essential dimensions of a state's activities in the international arena is the legal dimension, in this context, the controversial nature of the law on the use of force stands out as another critical issue to be examined. For this reason, the legal grounds of the states' extraterritorial military operations should also be examined in the context of the law on the use of force. In this regard, Türkiye, one of the countries that carried out military operations within the scope of the fight against terrorism, carried out five military operations in northern Syria. In this context, the investigation of the legal grounds of the five military operations carried out by Türkiye in the north of Syria constitutes the basis of this thesis. It is aimed that the thesis will contribute to the legal basis of these five military operations carried out by Türkiye. Evaluating these five operations in the context of the use of force law and investigating the legal grounds of the operations will also contribute to Türkiye's activities in the international arena in the future.