UİPORTAL

The AKP’s Alternative Worldview While Davutoğlu’s best-known work is his 2000 book Stratejik Derinlik[37] (Strategic Depth), of equal interest are his earlier works: a doctoral dissertation published in 1993 as Alternative Paradigms: The Impact of Islamic and Western Weltanschauungs on Political Theory[38] and his 1994 volume Civilizational Transformation and the Muslim World.[39] These works are dense, theoretical treatises, as are several lengthy articles published in the Turkish journal Divan in the late 1990s. While heavy going, the main thrust of Davutoğlu’s work could not be clearer: It is [...]

Changes in Turkey Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) was reelected to a third term in June 2011. This remarkable achievement was mainly the result of the opposition’s weakness and the rapid economic growth that has made Turkey the world’s sixteenth largest economy. But Ankara’s growing international profile also played a role in the continued public support for the conservative, Islamist party. Indeed, in a highly unusual fashion, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan began his [...]

In this essay, I analyze contemporary Turkish foreign policy (TFP) according to three major perspectives in international relations theory: realism, liberalism and identity. I focus on TFP after 2002, because 2002 represents a turning point when AKP (Justice and Development Party) came into power and subsequently shaped the contemporary Turkish perspective on international relations. It is obvious that Turkey’s leaders have realized the benefits of abandoning static policies of the Cold War era, and are adapting to the dynamic conditions of [...]

The Turkish government this week brokered an 11th-hour nuclear fuel swap deal with Iran. Turkey’s foreign minister explains the principles that made it possible. Throughout modern history, there has been a direct relationship between conflict and the emergence of new ways of arbitrating world affairs. Every major war since the 17th century was concluded by a treaty that led to the emergence of a new order, from the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 that followed the Thirty Years’ War, to the [...]

Turkish government representatives insist that they want to develop good ties in all directions, and consider these relations non-exclusive. Turkish officials describe their country as a bridge among these neighboring blocs and civilizations. They emphasize their newfound commitment to convey Western liberal democratic values to the newly emerging democracies that are slowly displacing the traditionally authoritarian countries of the Middle East. Turks would ideally like their country to become a diplomatic and energy bridge that connects Europe to the Middle [...]