Strategic Dynamics of Turkish Foreign Policy
Summary
Over the past two decades, Turkish foreign policy has evolved from a Western-oriented, interdependence-driven strategy towards a more autonomous and interventionist posture. In the early years of the ruling party’s tenure, Ankara emphasised economic integration, soft-power diplomacy and a mediator role in regional disputes. More recently, policymakers have pursued strategic autonomy, balancing relations between NATO allies and non-Western great powers, while deploying coercive diplomacy in neighbouring theatres such as Syria, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean. Energy geopolitics, notably disputes over hydrocarbon exploration and pipeline transit, have become central to Ankara’s power projection. At the same time, Turkey has leveraged refugee flows and development assistance as instruments of influence across the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans. This complex mix of unilateral initiatives, alliance management and normative discourse reflects an ambition to shape regional order, secure domestic legitimacy and navigate an increasingly multipolar international system.
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Strategic Dynamics of Turkish Foreign Policy publication trend
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Technical terms
Strategic autonomy: A state’s capacity to make independent foreign policy choices free from external constraints.
Logic of interdependence: A theoretical framework positing that mutual economic and political ties reduce the likelihood of conflict between states.
Soft power: The ability of a country to influence others through attraction, culture, values and diplomacy rather than coercion or payment.
Kin-states: States that share ethnic, religious or cultural ties and use these bonds to influence conflicts and resource disputes.
References
- The Role of Powerbroking in the Mediterranean Hydrocarbon Issue and Its Impact on Environmental Crisis—A Kin-State Case Dimension on Cyprus. Sustainability (2023).
- Turkish foreign policy in a post-western order: strategic autonomy or new forms of dependence?. International Affairs (2021).
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