{"id":36724,"date":"2018-01-12T14:30:42","date_gmt":"2018-01-12T03:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=36724"},"modified":"2018-01-12T12:54:13","modified_gmt":"2018-01-12T01:54:13","slug":"deconstructing-turkeys-foreign-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/deconstructing-turkeys-foreign-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Deconstructing Turkey\u2019s foreign policy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan has redefined Turkey\u2019s foreign policy, making it more independent and nationalist. The key to the new policy is a shift in Turkey\u2019s security concerns, as the country has become less fearful of and closer to Russia (a traditional enemy) and Iran (a regional competitor and a possible supporter of Kurdish independence), while also successfully resurrecting<\/a> Necmettin Erbakan\u2019s Islamist foreign policy.<\/p>\n

Erdo\u011fan rose to prominence in 2002, a year after he and his ally Abdullah Gul established the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalk\u0131nma Partisi<\/em>, AKP). Under Erdo\u011fan\u2019s leadership, the AKP has been accused of slowly and systematically trying to dismantle Turkey\u2019s secular identity, established by Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk in 1923. Many academic researchers have suggested that the AKP\u2019s strategy involves rejecting political Islam\u2014which refers to the implementation of Islamic values in the public sphere\u2014while at the same time embracing Islamic identity politics.<\/p>\n

The architect of Turkey\u2019s revitalised foreign policy was Ahmet Davuto\u011flu, who steered Turkey on a course that was based more on diplomacy (run by the foreign office, as opposed to the Turkish military), economics, soft power and Turkic identity. In pursuing this policy, Turkey capitalises on its geostrategic location to underpin its role in international relations.<\/p>\n

The policy has manifested itself in respect of Iraq, Syria, the Palestinians and Iran.<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s Kurdish problem has meant that Iraq has always weighed heavily in Turkey\u2019s foreign policy. When ideas about dismembering Iraq were floated in the post-2003 period, Ankara was steadfast in demanding Iraqi territorial integrity, emphasising its opposition to Kurdish independence. Turkey was supported on that issue by both Iran and Syria.<\/p>\n

Turkish\u2013Syrian relations are cyclical, in that they are affected by three main issues:<\/p>\n