The US and Turkey in Search of Regional Strategy: Towards Asymptomatic Trajectories

UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 36, October 2014
UNISCI – Research Unit on International Security and Cooperation

Kostas Ifantis & Ioannis Galariotis *

Security relations with the US have been critical f or Turkey. Cold War strategic imperatives dictated typical bandwagoning policies, although disagreements and frictions were present at times. In the 2000s, a combination of domestic development s and rapidly changing regional security patterns has resulted in a more assertive Turkish r egional security policy, which for many represents a departure from traditional Kemalist principles. This article attempts to assess the current course of Turkish regional security engagement and the ext ent to which relations between the USA and Turkey are subject to major change. The analytical context accounts for the impact of domestic, region al and global levels. The empirical focus is on Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian sectarian confli ct and on the trajectory of the bilateral relations with Israel.

* Kostas Ifantis is currently a Visiting Professor a t Kadir Has University in Istanbul. He is, also, an Associate Professor of International Relations in the Departm ent of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Athens. Ioannis Galariotis is post-doctoral research fellow at the Athens University of Economics and Business.

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