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Turkey in the Twenty-First Century: Quest for a New Foreign Policy

In the past decade Turkey has become an important regional power. Under the leadership of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, it has pursued a “zero problems with neighbors” policy, which has, in many respects, paid significant dividends. While Turkey retains its European ambitions—even though its European Union (EU) membership bid seems to be on indefinite hold—it has upgraded its relationships with Russia, Arab states, Iran, and even Armenia. At times, this has created friction with Turkey’s Western allies—particularly the USA—but many Turks are no doubt proud of the country’s willingness to chart a more assertive and independent foreign policy. This perspective is well represented in this collection of essays by young Turkish academics. It covers Turkish policy across a variety of regions and countries, including the Balkans, Israel, northern Iraq, Syria, Iran, Russia, and the EU. The USA lurks in the background on many of these topics, at times supportive of Turkish initiatives but often critical when Ankara’s policy clashes with the priorities of Washington. The volume’s general theme is that post-Cold War Turkish foreign policy has become “de-securitized,” meaning that the security concerns that were paramount during the Cold War have become less and less salient, particularly compared to economic objectives as Turkey has increasingly become a “trading state” and is interested in taking advantage of “soft power.” The irony is that even as Turkey tries to improve relations with its neighbors—including erstwhile rivals such as Greece, Iran, Syria, and Russia—it confronts an increasingly complex regional and international environment that often undermines its ability to fully realize its objectives. This volume does a solid job of describing the core components of this “new” Turkish foreign policy, particularly as it has developed in the past decade under the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Three questions arise. The first is causal: what accounts for the pronounced assertiveness and new direction in Turkish foreign policy? The essays in this volume present a host of factors, including systemic dynamics (particularly changes after 9/11 and challenges to the USA after the invasion of Iraq), Turkey’s economic dynamism, the electoral success of the AKP (some members of which advocate a more Islamist or culturally-attuned foreign policy perspective), and the more pronounced role of public opinion and non-state actors in Turkish foreign policy. Most importantly, Turkish Studies Vol. 13, No. 3, 559–564, September 2012