Turkey in its Region

Whilst Turkey and its role in the region where it is located is discussed,four forms of conceptualisation can be pointed out. There can be ordered as (1) as a “bridge between continents” (Europe and Asia), (2) as a “bridge between civilizations” (Muslim and Christian), (3) as a “trading state” (which seeks to decrease its trade dependence on Europe and increase its economic relations with the Middle East and Africa), and (4) as a “liberal/democratic model” for the Muslim world.

Turkey foreign policy during the Cold War period was not a form of invasive foreign policy. On the contrary, Turkish foreign policy during the Cold War period was largely an extension of the motto of the founder of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: “Peace at home, peace in the world”.

Throughout the Cold War era, Turkey’s ties with its neighbors were principally framed by its NATO membership and Ankara’s pro-Western profile.

The disintegration of the USSR and Yugoslavia, as well as the ensuing Gulf War of 1990–91, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, immediately changed Turkey’s threat perceptions and increased insecurity in the region.

The end of the bipolar international system and the emergence a new post-Cold War system have led Turkey to relocate itself in line with three principles. First of all, Turkish political elites have aimed at finding long-term solutions to the conflicts in the region and also to other long-lasting problems at the global level. The second principle of Turkish foreign policy has been to maintain a balance between “security” and “freedom.” The third pillar of Turkey’s new foreign policy lies behind the motive to cultivate political dialogue through economic instruments of trade and investment.

Hegemonic stability theory (HST) is a theory of international relations that the international system is more likely to remain stable when a single country (hegemon) is the dominant world power.

Realists seek to understand the nature of US hegemony within the global system. Assessing the basis of the US power in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, Keohane argues that the US is not likely to continue to dominate the international system, but that the institutions that can be traced back to the start of the US hegemony will most likely survive. This is the era of, for Keohane, “post-hegemonic cooperation".

Turkish political elites have become enthusiastic in restructuring the priorities and choices of Turkish foreign policy after 2002, when the AKP won enough parliamentary seats to form a single majority government. Since then, Turkey’s foreign policy has become actively engaged in regional politics and formulated new foreign policy strategies. As a result of this new approach, Turkey aimed to follow an active foreign policy through zero-problems with neighbors and resorted to an increased use of soft power.

Since the 9/11 attacks and the establishment of the AKP government that the bridge metaphor has changed to incorporate religion, transforming its meaning from “bridging continents” into “bridging civilizations.” Yanık argues that Turkey has been portrayed as being exceptional, because it is part of both East and West. This role provides Turkey with the opportunity to be a mediator/peacemaker in world politics and is fully fed by Turkey’s cosmopolitan and hybrid character inherited from its Ottoman history.

Turkey’s rising regional power during this period was not, however, without challenges. Turkey’s active foreign policy centered on following the “zero problems with neighbors” strategy and using its soft power capabilities such as soap operas as well as promoting democratic reforms, instead of resorting to hard power, was partially mitigated by the domestic character and dynamics of the incumbent regimes in the region, especially in the Middle East.

The speeches and discourses of political elites and leaders of Turkey after 2000s have identified new roles for Turkey such as being a “regional leader,” “regional protector,” “regional subsystem collaborator,” “global subsystem collaborator,” and “bridge”.

After 2002, Turkey has found it necessary to be active in its region, especially in the Middle East, in light of both historical ties and geographical proximity. With the policy of zero problems with neighbors and the settlement of the regional conflicts, Turkey has envisioned a multitrack diplomacy.

The main areas of contention between the two countries were disputes over sharing water resources, activities of the PKK terrorist organization, and demarcation of the border that cuts across the Hatay province.

A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, which act on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostility. The USA and the USSR were involved in proxy wars during the Cold War period at a time when the international system was marked by bipolarity.

The conflict in Syria not only claimed the lives of a great number of civilians but also displaced more than 12 million Syrians, most of which took refuge in neighboring countries including Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon. Turkey, as of 2020, hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees, which represents the largest refugee population in the world.

To a considerable degree, Turkey’s relations with Lebanon have been shaped by Turkey’s relations with Syria. This is due to Syrian and Lebanese historical and political ties that date back to the Ottoman times.

Since the 2009 crisis at the Davos Summit (between the then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the then Israeli President Shimon Peres) and the ensuing Mavi Marmara incident in 2010, Turkey has downgraded its diplomatic relations with Israel in 2011 and further in 2018. In May 2018, Turkey expelled the Israeli Ambassador to Ankara after Israeli Defense Forces killed dozens of Palestinians during violent clashes in the Gaza Strip. Israel followed suit and expelled the Turkish Consul in Jerusalem. Although Turkey and Israel, the two countries that have some common economic and geostrategic interests, normalized their relations in 2016, developments since 2009 have been marked by deep divisions between the two countries on central issues, including the status of Palestine and Palestinians.

In the post-1990 era, Ankara tried to block the entrance of its Western allies into the Black Sea region and accommodate Russia’s security concerns in the region. For instance, Western countries immediately and strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, but, in a sense, Turkey, stayed relatively quiet.

Dayton Agreement is the peace treaty that formally ended the war in Bosnia. It was signed on November 21, 1995, by the presidents of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia, and set a “General Framework Agreement for Peace” in Bosnia and Herzegovina.