https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5422-6203
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ABSTRACT
Recent years have witnessed increasing questions regarding Turkey’s international orientation. Many have defined Turkey as an over-ambitious middle power, a categorization similar to traditional middle power identity, yet also evincing a strong determination on the part of Turkish decision makers to transform Turkey into a regional power that has the potential to become a great power sometime in future. This essay examines why Turkey’s over-ambitious middle power strategy has failed in producing the expected outcomes and why adopting the strategy of restrained middle power will serve Turkey’s national interests much better at a time of great upheavals, polarization, and uncertainties in international politics. The restrained middle power strategy can be justified on both realist and liberal grounds.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 See for example an interview with President Recep T. Erdoğan published on-line in the February 2021 edtion of Kriter, available at https://kriterdergi.com/soylesi/cumhurbaskani-recep-tayyip-erdogan-dunya-degisiyor-bm-sistemi-de-degismeli
2 Yavuz, “The Motives,”; Haugom, “Turkish Foreign Policy.”
3 Dal and Kursun. “Assessing Turkey’s,”; Aydin, “Emerging Middle Powers.”
4 Dal, “Middle Powers.”
5 Patience, “Imagining MIDDLE POwers.”
6 Lopez-Lucia, “Regional Powers.”
7 Nolte, “How to Compare.”
8 Friedlander, “Transatlantic Sanctions.”
9 Oğuzlu, “Making Sense.”
10 Oğuzlu, “Turkey and the West.”
11 Öniş, “Turkey and the Arab Revolutions.”
12 Gulmez, “The Resilience.”
13 Köstem, “Russian-Turkish Cooperation.”
14 Aras and Kardaş, “Geopolitics of the New Middle East.”
15 Salt, “Turkey and Syria.”
16 See Altan, “France and Greece.”
17 Pierini, “Turkey’s Labyrinthine Relationship.”
18 Akturk, “Turkey’s Grand Strategy.”
19 Atmaca and Torun. “Geopolitical Visions.”
20 Freedman, “The Crisis of Liberalism.”
21 Cagaptay and Outzen, “ Drones and Resets.”
22 Levaggi and Yilmaz, “The precarious role.”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
H. Tarık Oğuzlu
Dr. Tarık Oğuzlu is currently a faculty member of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul Aydin University and an advisor to the Rector. He served as the Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations and Director of the Center for Social, Economic and Political Research (SEPAM) at Antalya Bilim University between 2012 and 2020. He was also a faculty member of the Department of International Relations at Bilkent University between 2004 and 2011. He received his Ph.D. degree in International Relations from Bilkent University in 2003. His primary research interests are on Turkish foreign policy, trans-Atlantic relations, Middle East security, and international relations theory. He has published numerous articles in journals such as Political Science Quarterly, Washington Quarterly, Middle East Policy, International Journal, Security Dialogue, Middle Eastern Studies, Turkish Studies, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, European Security, International Spectator, Journal of Balkans and Near Eastern Studies, Insight Turkey, and Uluslararası İlişkiler.