Identity and Foreign Policy

The fall of the Iron Curtain marked a milestone in international relations and caused optimistic predictions by political scientists such as a prevailing global liberalism as well as pessimistic ones like clashes due to cultural differences. As Turkey is a member of both the so-called Western and Muslim worlds, this book deals with this fascinating country, its identity and the influences on foreign policy after the end of the Cold War. For this purpose, the three political governments of the Motherland, Welfare and currently governing Justice and Development parties have been selected for an analysis of Turkish identity conceptions, domestic environment as well as external relations. Including popular Turkish leaders such as Turgut Özal, Necmettin Erbakan and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this book draws the picture of a Turkey that is finding its new position in the global order, influenced both by the Republican foundations as well as its Ottoman heritage as a former empire. The analysis describes the internal as well as global developments that have led up to the current Turkish government and its activist diplomacy in its wider neighborhood.