Chapter 8: Geopolitics, Geostrategic and Geoculture of Turkey and its Neighbouring Areas

Geopolitical, Geostrategical and Geocultural Positioning of Turkey

Geopolitics of Turkey

Geopolitics of Turkey is first of all related to its geographical position and the neighboring regions that surround Turkey. Turkey has territories on two continents; Europe and Asia, which makes it possible to approach Turkey from the Eurasian perspective. It stands on the intersection of three continents; Europe, Asia and Africa. It neighbors three regions; Middle East, Balkans, Caucasus. Apart from these regions even though it is not a neighbor Turkey has ties to Central Asia region. It is also surrounded by two major seas and the regions in their hinterland; Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

The connection between these two seas is through the two straits which are also on the territories of Turkey; Bosphorus and Dardanelles.

Its peoples and goods have been crossing from one region to the other through not only the land but also the seaways Turkey today borders. The mobility of peoples came along with wars, invasions and conquests only to be followed by tensions, conflict and more wars. The region therefore has always been important in military terms as well.

The centuries old movement of peoples has created a multi-cultural structure which brings richness to the region but at the same time bears seeds of conflict. The movement of the goods on the other hand has never stopped. On the contrary, it has increased. Today the transfer of oil and gas from their producers to consumers —both of whom are neighboring regions of Turkey— is one of the top issues on the global agenda along with energy security. It is therefore considered that Turkey’s geopolitical position brings it certain advantages along with some vulnerabilities.

Turkey, a post-imperial state still in the process of redefining its identity, is pulled in three directions: the modernists would like to see it become a European state and thus look to the west; the Islamists lean in the direction of the Middle East and a Muslim community and thus look to the south; and the historically minded nationalists see in the Turkic peoples of the Caspian Sea basin and Central Asia a new mission for a regionally dominant Turkey and thus look eastward. Each of these perspectives posits a different strategic axis, and the clash between them introduces for the first time since the Kemalist revolution a measure of uncertainty regarding Turkey’s regional role.

Geostrategy of Turkey

Turkey is not a global actor, but a regional one. Its status is defined by its geographical position and historical and cultural ties that are attached to this position. These are the dynamics that give Turkey a chance to influence its neighborhood. Thus, its capabilities do not allow Turkey to pursue a global policy.

The fact that neighboring regions bear conflicts that are ready to break out, and do so very often, making peace and ensuring security is the top geostrategic priority of Turkey.

Turkey’s geostrategy in this context is mostly diplomatic. It prefers to develop good bilateral relations, become a member in international organizations or initiate the establishment of international organizations. Taking part in alliances made up of not only regional states but in many cases also global powers, is another geostrategy Turkey has defined and been implementing. In addition to the diplomatic activities, Turkey also uses economic relations and economic actors —public and private— as a means of regional influence.

Geoculture of Turkey

Turkey shares the Islam religion with the majority of the Middle East, in the Balkans also Islam is a shared identity with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, in Central Asia both Islam and Turkic identity is shared, likewise in the Caucasus Turkey shares an ethnic and religious identity. With Europe on the other hand Turkey shares a set of norms, values and culture that it has been adopting since the late Ottoman period through Westernization/ Europeanization policies.

The countries which had been under the rule of another usually end up having negative thoughts, prejudices and even hostilities towards the successors of the ruling state. Turkey has faced these kinds of reactions in its neighboring regions due to the fact that it is the successor of the Ottoman Empire which had almost all these regions under its rule.

Another disadvantage of such a multidimensional geoculture might appear when the state gets involved in situations that could be on other terms —geopolitical, geostrategic— opted to stay out of. In cases where Muslim or Turkic countries and people are involved in conflicts, Turkey feels the urge to take a stance and even action.

It was only after the end of the Cold War that Turkey developed an active geocultural aspect in its foreign policy. The most remarkable geocultural initiative of Turkey in the postCold War period was the establishment of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in 1992 as “an implementing intermediary of Turkish foreign policy, particularly in the countries with whom we have shared values, as well as in many other areas and countries.”

Turkey and its Neighboring Areas

Turkey and Europe/West

Turkey’s priority, even before the Republic, has been Europe and the West; to define itself as European/Western, to be a part of Europe and the West and adopting both domestic and foreign policies that serve this aim. Even though for a certain period they coincide, the West and Europe in Turkish geopolitics do not always mean the same thing. Till the post-World War II era, the terms west and Europe or westernization and Europeanization were used interchangeably. But after the Second World War “West” came to mean more than Europe and in fact surpassed Europe. It came to mean the Western Bloc but mostly its leader United States. Still Turkey filed its application for the membership of then European Economic Community.

According to Turkish geopolitical perspective, Europe and the rest of the West need Turkey as much as Turkey needs them and benefit from her.

The events that followed the Arab Spring did highlight Turkey’s position once more not on military terms only but also due to the refugee crisis that started following the events.

For the United States and the NATO alliance, Turkey is an indispensable country, mainly because of its geopolitical, geostrategic and geocultural position again. This was especially the case in the Cold War years.

At a time when intercontinental missiles or satellites had not appeared on the scene, this was a great opportunity for the Western alliance and a great threat for the Eastern Bloc. When the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union collapsed it was discussed and feared that Turkey’s geopolitical position would lose its importance in the new world order. Yet the years followed did not prove this fear right. The turbulences that started right after the end of the Cold War in the neighbor regions of Turkey, such as the First Gulf War in the Middle East and the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the Balkans put it once more in a geopolitically and geostrategically crucial place.

Turkey and Eurasia

Turkey’s special geographic place gives it the opportunity to act on both these continents; Europe and Asia, that is often called Eurasia. This region has occupied an important space in theories of geopolitics since the beginning of the studies in this field.

Even though Eurasianist theories were being developed in the following years, they became popular after the fall of the Soviet Union as neo-Eurasianism. Reviving the ideas of classical Eurasianism these theories, adopted Eurasianism to the current conditions and claimed that Russia —neither a European nor an Asian country— would build a hegemony in its near abroad as an Eurasian country.

Some groups in Turkey on the other hand interpreted Eurasianism in Turkey as a geostrategic alliance with Russia as a counterbalance the West, or even against the West. This is more of geostrategic aspect of Eurasianist idea in Turkey. Another aspect of Eurasianism is more geocultural and advocates the improvement of the relations on ethnic and/ or religious grounds. That is alliance with the Turkic republics that became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union or alliance with the Muslim countries of Middle East and Balkans along with the ones in Central Asia and Caucasus. Opposition to the West and western oriented policies is the common feature of all these Eurasianism approaches in Turkey.

Turkey and the Central Asia

Like the other regions Central Asia does not have clear-cut borders. In the narrow and the most common sense Central Asia refers to the five former Soviet Republics; Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In the broader sense on the other hand, the region includes Afghanistan, Mongolia, Pakistan, parts of India, China and Iran. As can be seen these countries make up what Mackinder has defined as the Heartland.

Central Asia is a historically important geopolitical region. The Silk Road which is known to be carrying goods since the 2nd century BC passed through Central Asia. Central Asia also became the scene of geopolitical rivalry known as the Great Game between the Russian and British Empires.

Central Asia has come to the agenda of Turkish geopolitics towards the end of the Ottoman Empire. Back then, the main interest was the shared Turkic identity.

Known as the Eastern Question, this period coincided with the rise of nationalist ideas and ideals. Its reflection in the Ottoman Empire was the highlighting of Turkish identity. Having lost control on the other nationalities, the Ottoman elites turned Turkism into the official policy of the state. The prospect this policy was offering, was the Turkic populations beyond the Empire’s borders, who were at the time under the rule of the Russian Empire. Reaching these peoples under the umbrella of pan-Turkism would also bring an opportunity to weaken Russia, who had been expanding against the Ottoman Empire in the last two centuries. But Ottoman geocultural attempts to expand its influence to the peoples of Central Asia, despite finding some reflections, did not succeed.

After most territories in the region became part of the Soviet Union, and especially throughout the Cold War, Central Asia was out of geopolitical agendas. It was only with the collapse of the Soviet Union and establishment of five new republics in this region that Central Asia became gripping region in geopolitics.

The region had the attention of the whole world with the natural gas reserves it has and Turkey could benefit from this leadership not only by buying this gas under favorable conditions but also possibly have a say and role in the distribution and transportation of the gas. But this attempt, like the other one failed. The main reason for this failure was the indifference of the Central Asian states to Turkey’s call.

Still even though Turkey did not find an opportunity for regional leadership, it did develop promising relations with the Central Asian states. It supported the republics in the establishment of relations with other states. On the geocultural aspect, Turkey supported higher education of the peoples of these countries through several scholarships provided to the students that want to study in Turkey.

Turkey and the Caucasus

Once the Soviet Union collapsed, wars broke out both in the north and the south of the Caucasus. Another development in the region in this period was that the oil and gas reserves attracted the attention of many states and their companies to the region.

Turkey’s approach to this region is mostly shaped by historical and cultural dynamics. Therefore it is possible to say that geoculture plays the major part. But given the fact that the region is also rich with energy resources has an impact on defining Turkey’s policy towards the region. The energy-rich country of the region, Azerbaijan is a country that Turkey shares cultural, historical, religious and linguistic elements. Therefore Azerbaijan appears as a country that Turkey can bring together geoculture and geostrategy and shape its policies. The historical and cultural proximity has enabled the two countries to develop good political relations.

As the Turkish-Russian relations began to improve, Turkey’s interest in the region ceased to disturb Russia, who already had a stronger hand in the Caucasus. In 1999 the Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Treaty that was signed under US supervision, had strengthened the impression that Turkey was geopolitically acting with the West against Russia. Yet it appears that these problems does not prevent the establishment of close relations between Turkey and Russia like they used to.

The conflicts that both countries had with Armenia also became a dynamic that brought Azerbaijan and Turkey together. Azerbaijan and Armenia got into a war shortly after their independence over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is still an unsaved issue with twenty percent of Azerbaijani territories going under Armenian control even though the arm conflict seems to have ceased.

Turkey and the Middle East

Since World War II. International and civil wars, ethnic and religious conflicts, rivalry for regional leadership and international influence have become the facts of the region. The end of the Cold War only multiplied this fact. One of the reasons for this is the ethnic and religious composition of the region. The first battles started after the establishment of Israel in 1948. This was the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict that still has not reached a peaceful solution. The United States, as an ally of the Israeli state, has become an actor in the region to due the geostrategies that stem from this alliance. Another reason for American interest in the region is the rich energy sources of the region.

In many geopolitical analyses, Turkey is included in the Middle East and considered as a country of the region.

Turkey indeed shares a very long land border with the region and can be considered a part of it. It is directly affected from almost everything that happens in this region. The Middle East is also another region that Turkey shares historical and cultural ties. Along with the geopolitical importance of the region mentioned above, these ties have made the Middle East probably the most important geopolitical region for Turkey. Turkey’s historical and cultural ties is about the Ottoman rule and the Islam religion. But this kind of ruler/ruled relations of the past usually do not have a positive impact.

After the end of the Ottoman rule Turkey showed no real interest in the Middle East. Especially until the 1960s, Turkish foreign policy was distant if not at all indifferent to the region. Rather Turkey’s Middle Eastern policy was a part of its alliance and engagement with the West.

The voting in United Nations General Assembly about Cyprus was a dramatic indicator of how the Middle Eastern states were consistently voting against Turkey. For this reason, Turkey adopted a more active policy in the Middle East and developed its relations with regional powers.

It continued to approach the Middle East on geocultural terms after the end of the Cold War as well. Supported also by the United States, Turkey was portrayed as model Muslim country for the other Muslim countries of the region, which did not in fact welcome this approach. But this does not mean that Turkey’s policies were limited to geoculture or that it did not develope relations with nonMuslim countries. It has developed relations with Israel that is defined in terms of strategic partnership.

The interest Turkey has about the Middle East is also closely related to the fact that it would benefit highly from peace and stability in the region since their absence has caused serious problems in Turkey like border security, mass emigration, economic loss etc. In order to avoid these problems, Turkey tries to follow an active policy and not be left out of the developments in the region. Besides, there is more Turkey expects to benefit from an active foreign policy in the region. The first and foremost of these expectations was the one about the energy resources of the region. Through good relations with regional countries, Turkey not only expected to get cheap energy sources but also transfer this energy to Europe through its territories, using its geographic position as a geostrategic tool.

Turkey and the Balkans

The Balkans has always been important for Europe in terms of security. The region is like a gateway to Europe from the east. It is yet another area that is home to several different ethnic groups, cultures, languages, religions which has led to conflicts and wars throughout the history.

Turkey is considered to be Balkan country as well, not only due to its geographical position but also due to historical and cultural ties. The Ottoman Empire’s first conquests were in this area, which made it basically a Balkan state in its early years. But this historical bond with the region usually has negative resonants in this region. One of the most typical examples in that context is Turkey’s relations with Greece.

Lausanne Treaty also included the exchange of Greek and Turkish populations that were under the jurisdiction of the other state, with the exception of Greeks living in Istanbul, Imbros and Tenedos and the Turks living in Western Thrace. The populations that are left in these regions became subjects of geoculture for both countries. Both Greece and Turkey supported the stay of these people where they are as a possible tool of influence. But the geopolitical issues were not all concluded with the Lausanne Treaty. Problems also appeared in the Aegean Sea that lie between the two countries. Here the problem was about the Greek Islands. Turkish geostrategy in this issue is so definite that it has announced any attempts to increase the territorial waters a casus belli.

Balkans constitute an important place in Turkish geopolitics since this region is like Turkey’s door opening to Europe. Peace and stability in the region concerns Turkey as well as it does the rest of Europe. Consequently it takes an active part in policies regarding the region. It thus took part in the multilateral operations in BosniaHerzegovina and Kosovo in several stages.

Turkey and the Black Sea

Black Sea as a geopolitical region usually refers to the countries that surround this sea, which are Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Russia. But the region is also defined in a broader aspect which includes Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Moldova, and Serbia and is called the Wider Black Sea. It thus is located at the intersection of different regions and crosscut and connects these regions at the same time. As it historically was, it is still one of the most important interregional trade routes. That is why the states which make up Wider Black Sea, have come together in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation which was established in 1992.

Black Sea is an important seaway that connects Asia to Europe. Like the other regions that stand between continents, especially these two, it has historically been a crossroad and crossway. d. The discovery of the energy sources around the Sea made it a strategic route for the transport of the gas and oil, especially the Caspian reserves.

For the shore countries on the other hand, the Sea and the region have always been a major element of their geopolitics. It is the only seaway that Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, and Georgia can reach the open seas. Particularly for Russia, which has been a great power since the 18th century, Black Sea is, and has been, the connection with the world.

What makes Turkey a significant, maybe the most significant actor in the region is the Straits. The two straits on Turkish territories are the only exit from the Black Sea. Turkey has a very long border with the Black Sea. At some point in history the Ottoman Empire controlled all the shores of the Sea, which was called an Ottoman lake. It thus has historical ties with the rest of the region. It therefore wants to use these ties along with the advantage that the straits provide it, to be an influential actor in the region. But in order to do it, Turkey first needed to build stronger ties between the regional actors. Black Sea Economic Cooperation was formulated and established for this end. But the organization did not meet Turkey’s expectations in terms of achieving an economic union in the sense that European Union is. Not having achieved its aims about the EU membership, Black Sea as a region could serve as an alternative for Turkey. But in the end it failed to meet this end. Some members of the Cooperation gave priority to EU membership rather than improving ties with the Black Sea.

Turkey and the Mediterranean

The geopolitical significance of the Mediterranean has increased in recent years, due to the discovery of the natural resources found in the Sea’s basin. This was an important development, especially for the European countries that were in search of alternative oil and gas sources. Therefore it became one of the top geostrategies of the EU to secure this alternative. Accordingly, the EU began developing a geopolitical context about the Mediterranean.

Mediterranean reserves are also important for Turkey, who has been following an active energy policy as mentioned, but does not possess any. But as Bilgin points out “the Mediterranean dimension of Turkey’s identity was remarkable for its absence from the discussions on geopolitical identities of Turkey. In the eyes of Turkish policy makers, it is viewed as acceptable to locate Turkey in the Mediterranean so long as this representation is considered alongside Turkey’s other geopolitical locations including Europe, the Middle East, the Black Sea and the Turkic World” and even then it is the Eastern Mediterranean that is referred to. (Bilgin, 2004b: 284)

The main focus of Turkish geopolitics concerning the Mediterranean is Cyprus. The Cyprus issue is in some ways a part of Greek-Turkish relations. The Island, which was under Ottoman rule till the end of the 19th century, populates Greeks and Turks. When Great Britain, who had taken the control of the Island from the Ottomans decided to leave Cyprus, inter-communal conflicts began to surface and finally turned into violence in time, which led to the separation of the Cyprus into two. Not only the geocultural ties like history and ethnicity but also geopolitical concerns like regional security make Cyprus one of the top priorities of Turkey.