Leiden University Student Repository

Eruygur, Burc (2019)

Turkey’s Progressive Self-Determination: From ‘Strategic Depth’ to Contemporary Foreign Policy Vision

Master thesis | International Relations (MA)

Turkey is located in a very peculiar geographic location, which has reflected itself on the country’s foreign affairs. While its foreign policy was dominated by a Western-oriented outlook since the country’s foundation, this had changed following the election of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) into power in 2002. Since then, Turkey had undertaken a specific foreign policy approach under its new leadership, which was based on the book ‘Strategic Depth’ written by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, who has since been considered the mastermind of the AK Party’s foreign policy vision. However, in light of recent developments seen in the country’s foreign affairs, it is possible to detect some stark differences from the soft power vision then and the one seen in a contemporary context. Considering the lack of up-to-date analyses on these divergences, this thesis attempts to uncover how Turkey’s foreign policy vision today can be differentiated from the one referenced in Ahmet...Show moreTurkey is located in a very peculiar geographic location, which has reflected itself on the country’s foreign affairs. While its foreign policy was dominated by a Western-oriented outlook since the country’s foundation, this had changed following the election of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) into power in 2002. Since then, Turkey had undertaken a specific foreign policy approach under its new leadership, which was based on the book ‘Strategic Depth’ written by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, who has since been considered the mastermind of the AK Party’s foreign policy vision. However, in light of recent developments seen in the country’s foreign affairs, it is possible to detect some stark differences from the soft power vision then and the one seen in a contemporary context. Considering the lack of up-to-date analyses on these divergences, this thesis attempts to uncover how Turkey’s foreign policy vision today can be differentiated from the one referenced in Ahmet Davutoğlu’s book ‘Strategic Depth’, based on the development of the country’s foreign policy under the AK Party and following the outbreak of the Arab Spring.Show less

Foreign Policy

Turkey

AK Party

Soft Power

Ahmet Davutoglu

Author

Eruygur, Burc

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

International Relations

Supervisors

Duzgun, Eren

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en