One of the many unexpected turns of the Syrian conflict has been the rapid rise and enduring relevance of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and their associated political party, the Democratic Union Party (PYD). This development was largely made possible by three factors. The first is the substantial transnational support that the YPG/PYD received from the Iraq-based, Turkish-origin Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the early years of the Syrian civil war. Their linkage remains strong today, to the point that the YPG/PYD cannot independently take strategic decisions. The PKK-YPG connection is inextricably connected with another key factor, namely the YPG/PYD’s informal arrangement with the Syrian regime that combines a long-term cease-fire with ongoing trade and the provision of limited mutual support. This deal provided the YPG/PYD with space and additional resources for growth in 2011/2012, for example in the form of state assets. Finally, the YPG/PYD struck up a tactical partnership with the US after the battle for Kobani against Islamic State (IS) in 2015. This partnership remains active today, even though US objectives have partially shifted from defeating IS to countering the Syrian regime and Iran.
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