Turkey and Israel: Evolution of state identity and shifting relations

ABSTRACT

Turkish-Israeli relations have been marked by constant fluctuations for over half a century, yet they have never ebbed so low as in the era under the AKP (Justice and Development Party). A closer look at Turkish-Israeli relations since their inception shows that despite vital security and economic interests shared by the two states, bilateral relations are largely shaped by ideational factors, namely the evolution of Turkish state identity. This article investigates both the material and ideational factors in Turkish-Israeli relations in three periods: during the Cold War; from 1990 to the rise of the AKP in 2002; and during the AKP era. After examining the trajectory of the relationship over decades, the article, while not denying the centrality of material factors, suggests that there is a strong correlation between the evolution of Turkish state identity and Ankara’s relations with Israel.

KEYWORDS:

• Israel
• Turkey
• state identity
• foreign policy
• Erdogan
• alliance
• confrontation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Barnett, “Social Constructivism,” 162.

2. Wendt, Social Theory, 36–7; and Adler, “Constructivism,” 319–63.

3. Wendt, “Anarchy,” 398.

4. Wendt, Social Theory, 258.

5. Hopf, The Social Construction, 294.

6. See note 3 above.

7. Mango, “Turkey,” 229.

8. Robins, “Turkish Foreign Policy,” 290.

9. Yavuz, “Turkish-Israeli Relations,” 22–37.

10. Bacik, “The Limits of an Alliance,” 49–63.

11. Bölükbaşı, “Behind the Turkish-Israeli Alliance,” 22.

12. Makovsky, “Israeli-Turkish Relations,” 147–70.

13. Robins, Turkey, 76.

14. Abadi, “Israel and Turkey,” 106.

15. Ibid., 108.

16. Turan, “Political Culture,” 44–6; Dağı, “Islamic Political Identity,” 2426; and Göl, “The Identity,” 801–5.

17. Yavuz and Khan, “Turkish Foreign Policy,” 70.

18. “President Johnson and Prime Minister Inonu,” 386–93.

19. Yavuz, “Turkish-Israeli Relations,” 24.

20. Karaosmanoglu, “Turkey’s Security,” 163.

21. Baykan, “Turkey,” 104.

22. Carley, “Turkey’s Role,” 5.

23. Aydın, “Turkish Foreign Policy,” 1.

24. Stern and Ross, “The Role of Syria,” 116–17.

25. Bayraktar, “The Palestinian Question,” 22.

26. Stern and Ross, “The Role of Syria,” 116.

27. Altunısık, “The Turkish-Israeli Rapprochement,” 180.

28. Cevik and Daniel, “Formula for Stability,” 25.

29. Ibid., 31.

30. Yavuz, “Turkish-Israeli Relations,” 27.

31. Robins, “Turkish Foreign Policy,” 84.

32. Eisenstadt, “Turkish-Israeli Military Cooperation.”

33. Ovalı, “Revisiting the Turkish Identity,” 42.

34. Ozcan, “Facing its Waterloo,” 85–6.

35. Balcı, “Türkiye’nin Dış Politikası ve İsrail,” 126.

36. Altunışık and Martin, “Making Sense,” 572.

37. Kirişci, “Turkey’s ‘Demonstrative Effect’,” 33–55.

38. Davutoğlu, “Turkey’s Foreign Policy Vision,” 78–9.

39. Bennhold, “Leaders.”

40. Ayalon told local TV stations that the humiliation was intentional, a reaction to a Turkish TV series ‘The Valley of the Wolves’ that was perceived as anti-Semitic. ‘Israel Apologizes to Turkey’.

41. The remarkable shift in Turkey’s threat perception stems from the changes in the makeup of the National Security Council. As reforms for the EU accession process stipulated, the majority of the council’s members became civilians in contrast to the former situation where the council was under the control of the military elite. Lindenstrauss, ‘Changes’.

42. UN Security Council 6325th Meeting.

43. Solaker and Hogg, “Israel.”

44. Demirtas, “Turkey-Israel Ties.”

45. Srivastava and Pitel, “Erdogan and Hamas.”

46. Ovalı, “Revisiting,” 50.

47. Güvenc and Sarıboga, “Israel.”

48. Shugerman, “Turkish President Accuses Israel.”

49. “Protests against Israel over Surge.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ayfer Erdoğan Şafak

Ayfer Erdoğan Şafak is Lecturer Dr., Department of Modern Languages, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey.