Turkey Hesitates to Revise External Priorities

German Marshall Fund of the United States, November 12, 2014

Ilter Turan *

Is Turkey parting ways with its traditional allies? Is it trying to reconstitute former territories of the Ottoman Empire as a Turkish zone of influence? Observers of Turkey’s foreign and domestic policies are at a loss to interpret and predict the behavior of the Turkish government because of what appears to be erratic rhetoric and actions of the government itself. The Turkish government has found it difficult to make adjustments in its foreign policy in the face of unfavorable developments. It is trying to figure out what to do in cooperating with the international community while preserving its own interests and policy preferences. In the meantime, it has so far failed to appreciate the amount of damage its attempt to serve contradictory ends has done to its reputation as a reliable ally and a partner in the Atlantic alliance.

* İlter Turan is a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, where he also served as president between 1998-2001.

Download full text (Format Pdf)