| AKP | Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi: Justice and Development Party, Erdoğan’s group, centre-right Islamist |
| CHP | Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi: Republican People’s Party, Atatürk’s group and main opposition, led by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, left-leaning secularist |
| FSA | Free Syrian Army: mainstream armed opposition to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. Originally nationalist, later infiltrated and overtaken by Islamist elements. Supported at various times by Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, US, UK and other European countries |
| HDP | Halkların Demokratik Partisi: People’s Democratic Party, main Kurdish group, led by Selahattin Demirtaş |
| Isis | Islamic State of Iraq and Syria: extreme Islamist group comprised mainly of foreign fighters who travelled into Syria via Turkey. Initially tolerated by the FSA, later turned against them and seized huge tracts of rebel-held Syria |
| JAN | Jabhat al-Nusra: the Support Front, Al-Qaeda’s franchise in Syria. Comprised mainly of Syrian Islamists, largely fought alongside the FSA. Listed as a terror group by the US in December 2012 |
| MSP | Milli Selâmet Partisi: National Salvation Party, main Islamist group in 1970s and Erdoğan’s first party, led by Necmettin Erbakan, anti-Western Islamist. Closed following the 1980 coup |
| PKK | Partiye Karkerên Kurdistanê: Kurdistan Workers’ Party, Kurdish militia founded by Abdullah Öcalan in 1978, fighting insurgency in south-eastern Turkey since 1984. Banned in Turkey, EU and United States |
| RP | Refah Partisi: Welfare Party, Erbakan’s new group and main Islamist party in 1980s and 1990s. Closed following the 1997 coup |
| YPG | Yekîneyên Parastina Gel: People’s Protection Units, Syrian wing of the PKK. Founded in 2004 but rose to prominence during the Syrian conflict. Classed as terror group in Turkey; allied with US in fight against Isis |