Turkey in the Middle East Politics. Political Discourses, Identity and the National Interests (eBook)

Scientific Study from the year 2020 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Near East, Near Orient, grade: 1.3, University of Kassel (Faculty of Social Sciences), language: English, abstract: This book bases on the research related to Turkey’s relations with the Middle East in the post-1980s. Recent analyses clarify that the change in economic policy and the emergence of a new wealthy class of Anatolia motivated Turkish governments to follow a multidimensional foreign policy after the 1980s. The transformation of identity, cultural and historical connections effected to increase the relations with the countries in the Middle East. The research findings indicate that the end of the Cold War caused instability in the Middle East, where Turkey had historical, cultural, religious and territorial connections.

The identity dimension in Turgut Özal’s foreign policy caused to remember the Ottoman past in the region. Neo-Ottomanism, which proposed that Turkey as the main power in the former Ottoman territories emerged as a both identity and strategy. After 2003, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has followed a more conceptualized foreign policy based on the neo-Ottomanist strategy. By researching the political dynamics, it becomes evident that since the Gulf War in 1991, Turkey has increasingly connected to the ethnic groups within Iraq and became one of the major players in Iraqi politics. Also, increased criticism of the Turkish government, coupled with the strong support of Turkish people, against to Israeli politics has been the important factor to attract both the people and the politicians in the Middle East. Overall, the research reflects that the strong public support and an appropriate foreign policy, based on the neo-Ottomanist strategy, have been the main factors to increase the Turkey’s political sphere of influence in the Middle East.