Turkey and the West
| Published date | 01 December 2011 |
| Date | 01 December 2011 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070201106600422 |
| Author | Tarik Oğuzlu |
| Subject Matter | Over the Transom |
| International Journal | Autumn 2011 | 981 |
Tarık Oğuzlu
Turkey and the west
The rise of Turkey-centric westernism
Tarık Oğuzlu is a faculty member in the department of international relations at Bilkent
University, Ankara, where he focuses on Turkish foreign policy, Turkey’s relations with the
European Union, international relations theory, and foreign policy analysis.
This article argues that Turkey’s approach towards its western partners,
meaning the United States and the European Union, has recently evolved
into Turkey-centric westernism. Contrary to the argument that Turkey has
begun to turn its face away from the west under the Justice and Development
party (AKP) governments since 2002, this article contends that what has
changed in Turkey’s approach towards the west is not Turkey’s commitment
to successfully complete its western-friendly transformation process at home
and abroad, but the decades-old fixation with the idea that membership in
western institutions, most notably the European Union, is a must for this to
happen. Turkey is also less concerned that its western and European identity
be recognized by western/European countries themselves.
Turkey-centric westernism questions the idea that Turkey is a mere
tool for the materialization of western security interests in other locations.
Rather, Turkey is an actor on its own. A more interest-based, rather than
identity-related, approach is in place, but, in addition, Ankara is now
more self-confidant than ever in its dealing with western actors. The most
| 982 | Autumn 2011 | International Journal |
| Tarık Oğuzlu |
notable manifestation of this Turkey-centric westernism is that Turkey has
increasingly adopted a more self-centric approach in its foreign policy,
while simultaneously undertaking a western/European transformation at
home and working towards the creation of a new regional environment
in its neighbourhood, particularly the Middle East, in conformity with
the constitutive principles and norms of western/European international
society. Turkey has now become a country that very much upholds western/
European values and employs western/European tools and style in its
foreign policy, yet increasingly justifies such practices in the context of its
national interests.
This article argues that such an outcome in its foreign policy is mainly
a product of Turkey’s successful economic performance and political
democratization, as well as the so-called strategic-depth foreign policy
doctrine of the governing party. A related argument is that the changing
dynamics of international-systemic and regional politics in the post 9/11
era have provided the impetus for such a turn in Turkish foreign policy.
Put another way, exogenous factors occurring at international and regional
levels have simply provided the context in which Turkey’s bargaining power
vis-à-vis western actors has increased and Turkey has been able to adopt
a more nationalistic and self-centric foreign and security policy outlook.
Turkish decision-makers have increasingly noted the negative consequences
of some western—read American—policies in the Middle East on Turkey’s
national interests, and have gradually arrived at the conclusion that adopting
a long-term transformative foreign policy in this region, similar to EU’s
neighbourhood policies, would best serve Turkey’s interests.
The article proceeds, first, with a description of Turkey-centric
westernism, including its constitutive principles and an empirical
demonstration of this approach. Then it analyzes the causes of the approach,
and the conclusion recaps the main findings of the research and offers some
predictions for the future.
TURKEY-CENTRIC WESTERNISM
Principles
Observers in recent years have increasingly noticed that Turkey has begun to
adopt a new approach towards the west, namely Turkey-centric westernism.
In this view, Turkey does not dispute the constitutive norms of the western-
centric international environment, yet it tries to help fix the existing system
in such a way as to much better reflect its concerns and priorities at home
and abroad. The goal is neither to come up with a particular Turkish model,
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