Proceedings of the 22nd International Academic Conference, Lisbon

CHANGING DYNAMICS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AFTER THE ARAB AWAKENING; THE POSITION OF TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY

AYDIN AYDIN

Abstract:

The transformation and power struggle in the Middle East after the Arab Spring and actual withdrawal of the USA in December 2011 from Iraq and therefore from the Middle East caused serious changes in the dynamics and balances of the region. The aim of this paper is to investigate evolving foreign policy strategies, activities of both regional and global actors on Middle East from the perspective of Turkey. The changes in the Middle East policy of Turkey after such changes and the effects of regional and systemic actors on such changes were studied comparatively with the foreign policies of Iran and Saudi Arabia. The national powers of Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the effective power centers in the region, were measured and compared to each other. Within this context, it was attempted to reveal the roles that these countries assumed in the changes in the region based on their powers from the perspective of Turkey. Furthermore, the critiques of relations of Turkey with the region countries and the foreign policy approaches it abortively produced against the regional changes were assessed within the new atmosphere developing in the Middle East.

Keywords: Middle East, Power Struggle, Turkish Foreign Policy, Regional Power

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2016.022.008

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