The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a Kurdish militant political organisation and armed guerrilla group founded in 1978. It has primarily operated in the Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria. The PKK initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted its political vision toward advocating autonomy and greater rights for Kurds within existing state borders.

This shift must be understood against a longer history of systemic repression of Kurdish communities across the region. Kurdish populations have faced decades of forced assimilation, large-scale displacement, bans on the Kurdish language and cultural expression, and repeated military campaigns. These policies have produced enduring forms of structural and political violence that continue to shape Kurdish mobilisation and resistance.

In the 2000s, the PKK reoriented its political project toward a model inspired by democratic confederalism, emphasising community-based, decentralised self-governance, ecological sustainability, and feminist principles. This framework has influenced forms of Kurdish self-organisation, particularly in parts of northern Syria and Iraq.

Despite establishing limited forms of autonomy in some areas, Kurdish communities continue to face ongoing struggles for recognition, rights, and political self-determination. Following the failed promise of a Kurdish state after World War I, Kurds have remained marginalised within the geopolitical orders of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, resulting in persistent conflict and repression.

In 2025, following the convening of its congress, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) formally announced its dissolution and declared an end to its armed struggle. As part of this process, the organisation symbolically destroyed its weapons, signalling a transition away from militarised resistance and toward engagement within the sphere of civilian and political struggle.