Iran Review

Mohammad Khajouei
M.A. in Middle East Studies 

Turkey is currently a major newsmaker in the region. Détente with Armenia, establishment of strategic relations with Iraq and Syria, mediation in the region and, most importantly, distancing from Israel are major issues which have hit news headlines about Turkey.

Election of Justice and Development Party seven years ago has not only changed the arrangement of power in Turkey, but has also left its mark on the country’s foreign relations and changes have been more remarkable in the past two years.

For many years, Turkey was trying to define its Western identity by getting closer to European countries and the US that was why they insisted on entering the European Union. Israel was the only regional country with strategic relations with Turkey.
Therefore, Arab and Islamic countries in the Middle East as well as Central Asian and Caucasian states did not stand high in Turkey’s foreign policy despite regional propinquity to that country.

Although Islamist politicians were not hasty to change that situation after being elected, they tried to continue the West-centered foreign policy of Turkey while paying more attention to neighboring countries. Since two years ago, however, the foreign policy of Turkey has undergone drastic changes and Ankara is discarding the previous West-centered policy in favor of friendly relations with non-Western countries, especially those in the Middle East and Central Asia in order to bring about some kind of balance in its foreign relations.

That change in attitude can have many reasons, the foremost of which is, perhaps, the change in the political elite. There is no doubt that the current government has its roots in Islamist figures and their approaches both in domestic and foreign policies are different from those of Kamalist politicians. The present leaders of Turkey are trying to get the country closer to neighbors. But the changes do not stop there. The more important point is that pursuing the West-centered policy for several years failed to bring Turkey to a suitable position in its relations with the West. That policy had prevented Turkey from expanding relations with other countries, including those in the Middle East, and had reduced Ankara's clout in the region. On the other hand, the West and especially Europe considered serious reservations for expanding relations with Turkey.

Therefore, Islamist figures that are now in power have learned from past experiences and are trying to make up for the past mistakes by diversifying their foreign policy approaches in hope of a new balance.

Thus, Turkey is trying to increase its influence in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Caucasus. It has first embarked on détente with countries in those regions. This is why Ankara has been mending fences with Armenia, Syria, and to some extent, Iraq.
The trend has not stopped there. Establishment of strategic relations with regional countries and finding a central role for Turkey in settling regional disputes, even between two Arab countries like Iraq and Syria, are new focuses of Turkey’s foreign policy. To diversify and balance foreign relations, Turkey has distanced from some past friends like Israel. To establish balance is the most important cause of that change. Distancing from Israel and the extremist government of Benjamin Netanyahu is not a sensational step, but a totally calculated strategic move which aims to promote Turkey’s status as an independent country with high diplomatic influence.

In conclusion, it should be noted that getting close to neighboring countries does not necessarily mean that Turkey is planning to totally distance from Western countries and even Israel. The country is trying to balance its foreign relations in order to gain more bargaining power. Pursuit of this policy may change the situation of Turkey from an influenced player to an influential one and give Ankara more bargaining power in negotiations with Western countries.