Conceptually the aims of this thesis are to show the salient features of the political reproduction of states as a necessity for their survival as they continually face a double-security dilemma in the neoliberal era. Empirically this thesis examines Turkey’s ruling party from 2002 to 2015. The Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) maintained authority by mitigating the polities and actors that posed vertical and horizontal competition to their power (the double-security dilemma of domestic and international threats faced by state rulers). To outcompete and absorb its rivals, the AKP maintained a post-Islamist alliance-building model of political reproduction through a globalized Islamic neoliberal authority pattern until 2011. This became popularized as the ‘Turkish Model’, a model of political reproduction framed as suitable for other Muslim-majority states. The findings from data analysis show that to maintain the constitutive sovereignty of the Turkish state, the AKP built a post-Islamist hegemony. Furthermore, this thesis explores how the AKP horizontally built a pluralist vision of neo-ottomanism enabling their navigation of the international political system. Their ‘zero-problems’ foreign policy was the cornerstone of building regional liberal peace. This policy was the basis of the AKP’s maintenance of functional sovereignty until the ‘Arab Spring’. Yet, the new double-security dilemma that emerged through the ‘Arab Spring’ not only threatened the existence of post-Islamism within Turkey, but the existence of the ‘Turkish Model’ itself. The AKP then moved towards a fortifying pattern of authority to shield both themselves and the Republic from emergent threats / Marie Curie European Commission Sustainable Peacebuilding Project through Sabancı University and the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust.

Basing its foreign policy on the Wilsonian internationalism, the new Turkish Republic established good relations with countries around the world. It signed neutrality and friendship treaties, and pursued a neutral foreign policy. However, at the end of World War II, it abandoned its longtime neutral foreign policy and aimed to establish closer ties with the American-led West. This thesis examines how and why Turkey shifted its foreign policy from neutrality to active alliance. In the first half of the thesis, I closely deal with what role international developments played in that shift. First, I focus on how Josef Stalin's efforts to obtain bases and joint-control with Turkey over the Turkish Straits created a threat to Turkey's national security. Then, I explore how this threat forced Turkey to leave its neutral foreign policy and seek closer ties with the U.S. In the second half of the thesis, I examine how Turkey's search for economic aid and military commitment accelerated and intensified the shift from neutrality to active alliance. First, I focus on how Turkish officials aggressively sought economic assistance from the U.S. and how U.S. officials became resistant to the Turkish requests for additional aid beginning with the second half of 1947. Considering that Turkey was less vulnerable to the Soviet threat, U.S. officials judged that Turkey did not need aid as much as Western Europe did. In order to overcome the resistance, Turkish officials exaggerated the Soviet threat and used the problem of high defense spending. Then, I explore how Turkish officials sought a military commitment from the U.S. A U.S. military commitment could alleviate the problem of high defense spending and facilitate the flow of economic aid from the U.S. Therefore, Turkish officials carried on a diplomatic offensive to secure a military commitment from the U.S. In doing so, they distanced themselves from neutrality and became an institutional ally of the U.S. in 1952. / History

Cette thèse met en perspective l’influence qu’exerce l’héritage ottoman sur les relations entre la Turquie et les pays régionaux et insiste sur l’importance de cet aspect dans l’analyse de la politique étrangère turque. Les acteurs politiques à forte référence religieuse ont toujours porté un discours glorifiant le passé ottoman. Ils ont développé une relecture romantique de l’histoire ottomane qui, d’un côté, a toujours été en décalage avec les recherches universitaires et le discours officiel en Turquie, et de l’autre, diamétralement opposée à la rhétorique dominante dans les autres anciens territoires ottomans partagés entre une vingtaine de pays. Ce travail de recherche montre que les gouvernements AKP, qui ont des origines idéologiques remontant à ces acteurs, se sont appuyés essentiellement sur la perception nationaliste et religieuse de l’histoire pour développer un discours de réhabilitation de l’héritage ottoman dans leur politique étrangère depuis 2002. / This dissertation puts into perspective the influence of the Ottoman heritage on relations between Turkey and regional countries and shows the importance of this aspect in the analysis of Turkish foreign policy. Political actors with strong religious views have always been different from other in the political space due to their discourse glorifying the Ottoman past. They have developed a romantic vision of Ottoman history which, on the one hand, has always been out of academic research and official discourse in Turkey, and on the other, diametrically opposed to the dominant rhetoric in the other ancient Ottoman territories shared between some twenty countries. This research shows that AKP governments, which have ideological origins going back to these actors, have relied primarily on the nationalist and religious perception of history to develop a discourse on the rehabilitation of the Ottoman heritage in their foreign policies since 2002.

This thesis aims to analyze the Turkish foreign policy towards the State of Israel in a historical perspective and to examine how the foreign policy perceptions of the AKP Government having Islamic roots that came to power in 2002 affected this policy. The thesis argues that, historically, the Western connection of the Turkish Republic has determined the Turkish foreign policy towards Israel and the foreign policy perceptions of the AKP Government strengthened this connection rather than weakening it. It is argued that, the fundamental reason underlying this situation is the efforts of the AKP Government to use its compromising foreign policy as a leverage against the constitutional legitimacy question it faced in domestic politics. As a result, during the AKP era, it is concluded that, Turkish foreign policy towards Israel has not undergone fundamental changes at least as long as the domestic legitimacy question exists.

This thesis examines perspectives of the two influential U.S. think tanks, the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations, on Turkish foreign policy under the leadership of the Justice and Development Party (JDP) from 2002 to 2010. It attempts to analyze the perceptions of the noted institutions about the JDP&rsquo / s foreign policy by referencing their reports, articles, interviews and seminars. The study had four aims. First, it aims to analyze the JDP&rsquo / s foreign policy in the eyes of the two think tanks. Second, it shows the objective of the two institutions for shaping the framework of the discussions on the United States-Turkey relations and Turkish foreign policy by emphasizing the epistemic community. Third, this thesis intends to clarify divergences and convergences in the perceptions of the two think tanks. Fourth, it indicates the continuity, change and rupture in the JDP&rsquo / s foreign policy choices from the viewpoint of the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations. Consequently, the thesis states that &ldquo / the given framework&rdquo / in the relations between the United States and Turkey has been largely determined by the U.S.&rsquo / activities.

This study aims to examine the foreign policy of Azerbaijan toward Turkey in a historical perspective on the one hand and to analyze foreign policy formations during the Abulfaz Elchibey, Heydar Aliyev and Ilham Aliyev periods on the other. The thesis argues that One nation, two states principle does not have a validity in dictating the bilateral relations, instead a realist engagement is being favored by Azerbaijan with an emphasis on national interest. As a result, it is asserted that Azerbaijan&rsquo / s foreign policy remains in a cautious and consistent manner toward Turkey.

The recent global security challenges such as terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction etc. have altered the security perceptions of the countries. For opposing those new security threats the U.S. and the EU generated their own security discourses. Accordingly, they tackle the issues with diverging perceptions. This diversion paves the way for a debate between two sides. In the mean time, Turkey has established her security architecture in accordance with the Western international community. Nevertheless, the ongoing debate between the EU and the U.S. leaves Turkey in an uncomfortable situation. On the grounds that, the future tendency of Turkey will be dependent on the policies of the U.S. and the EU as well as Turkey&#039 / s own progress. On the one hand the U.S. can present multilateral or unilateral solutions to the problems. On the other hand the EU can show an inward-looking or an outward-looking policy in international relations. The results of those policy options will be the answer of Turkey&#039 / s probable security preference between the U.S. and the EU.

This paper focuses on understanding and explaining the change of Turkish foreign policy,particularly in the last decade. Many observers have expressed a suspicion that Turkey is abandoning its Western-centric alignment and gradually shifting its axis. The thesis argues that rather than a shift, Turkey is taking an independent position. It maintains that the end of the Cold War and the change in the international structure from bipolarity to unipolarity has provided incentives for countries with some degree of material capabilities to pursue independence from the U.S. policy preferences. This study analyses structural effects on the behavior of Turkey. Later it associates the observed change in Turkey’s foreign policy as the outcomes of taking an independent position to maximize its objectives. Finally, it presents empirical research to prove the argument.

The diploma thesis deals with the rise of Turkey as a regional power in the Middle East since the end of the Cold War until the present. The aim of the thesis is to analyze the country's position in the region during the period 1990-2017 and to examine factors that contributed to the growth of Turkey's power. The thoretical framework discusses important concepts and different approaches within the international relations literature to the analysis of regional powers and subsequently defines criteria for assessing whether to consider Turkey as a Middle Eastern power. The study follows chronological evolution of Turkey and its foreign policy, examining the country's material capacities as well as strategies and instruments used by Turkish governments to promote Turkey's influence at the regional level. In view of the growing power potential, ambitions and engagement in the region, the thesis has come to the conclusion that Turkey has achieved the status of one of the regional powers of the Middle East during the 1990s. The end of the bipolar international system was a factor that allowed Turkey to act more independently in the new global order. Subsequently, thanks to Turkey's economic growth, the Turkish leadership could increase the volume of funds spent on active foreign policy and thus strengthen...

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis examines the Greek-Turkish ongoing rapprochement. This latest rapprochement effort followed closely two devastating earthquakes that hit Greece and Turkey consequently in 1999. The two nations sent official and private (NGO) relief help, including search and rescue teams, to the areas struck. This study examines whether there are tangible shifts in the policies of the two countries that could sustain the rapprochement, or whether the adjustment is superficial and could collapse as soon as any controversial issue(s) arise between the two nations. It approaches the question with the clarity provided by hindsight, employing three past case studies of similar endeavors of the two countries. By examining the three past cases as well as considering all empirical evidence for the present rapprochement, this thesis concludes that there is tangible evidence of a shift in Greek foreign policy toward Turkey, whereas with respect to Turkish policy, there exist encouraging rhetoric and gestures but no evidence of adequate reciprocity towards Greece on the political level. Finally, the thesis provides policy recommendations for both sides. / Commander, Hellenic Navy