Turkey's Neighbourhood Policy and EU Membership
| Published date | 01 March 2012 |
| Date | 01 March 2012 |
| Author | Nathalie Tocci |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070201206700106 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
| International Journal | Winter 2011-12 | 65 |
Nathalie Tocci is deputy director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome, and associate
editor of The International Spectator.
Across its neighbourhood and in policy areas as diverse as security,
trade, energy, and migration, Turkish foreign policy has fundamentally
transformed since the end of the Cold War. In some cases, such as Turkish
policies in the Balkans or in the field of trade and migration, the change
has been incremental. In other areas, such as in the Middle East and in
the realm of security policy, the shift has been more abrupt and visible. But
the transformation of Turkey’s neighbourhood policies is undeniable. This
article recounts the major transformations in Turkey’s regional policies over
the last decade, to Turkey’s north and south, and across policy areas such as
trade, visas, and security. It highlights the principal achievements as well
Nathalie Tocci
Turkey’s
neighbourhood
policy and EU
membership
Squaring the circle of Turkish foreign policy
| 66 | Winter 2011-12 | International Journal |
| Nathalie Tocci |
as the pending challenges and flashpoints. The purpose of this account to
assess European perceptions of, and reactions to, Turkey’s neighbourhood
policies, with an eye to drawing out the implications for Turkey’s tortured
accession path to the European Union.
Turkey’s strategic significance has traditionally been among the key
determinants of its relationship with the EU. Over the decades, Turkey has
been hailed in Europe, the US, and in Turkey itself as a bridge, a buffer, and
a model state in its region. These perceptions have profoundly affected its
relationship with the EU.1 In view of this, this article assesses how Turkey’s
regional activism in the 21st century has been perceived in Europe and how
such perceptions have affected Turkey’s EU accession path.
TURKEY’S REGIONAL POLICIES: SUCCESSES, FAILURES AND FLASHPOINTS
External and internal drivers of Turkey’s regional policies
The transformation in Turkey’s foreign policy can be read as a mix of external
geopolitical as well as internal political, economic, and societal changes.
Externally, the end of the Cold War, the ensuing 1990-91 Gulf War, the 2003
war in Iraq, and the 2011 Arab Spring have induced Turkey to engage more
actively in its neighbourhood, both to the north and south.2 To the north,
the end of the Cold War and the breakup of Yugoslavia immersed Turkey
in the geopolitical dynamics of the Balkans, the Caucasus, and central Asia,
largely in concert with the United States and Europe. Turkey’s participation
in NATO interventions in Bosnia and Kosovo, and the repositioning of
Turkey as an energy hub, manifested first by the US drive to realize the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and since then by Turkey’s prominence in
competing pipeline projects (from Nabucco to South Stream) are testimony
to this fact.3 To the south, whereas the 1990-91 Gulf War triggered a renewed
emphasis on Turkish-American strategic cooperation, it also ushered in
Turkish assertiveness in the Middle East, which manifested itself through
heightened tensions with Syria, Iraq, and Iran.4 The 2003 war in Iraq
unleashed an opposing set of dynamics between Turkey and its southern
1 Nathalie Tocci, Turkey’s European Future (New York: New York University Press, 2011).
2 Ronald Linden et al., Turkey and its Neighbors (Boulder: Lynne Reinner, 2011).
3 Huseyin Bağcı and Şaban Kardaş, “Exploring Turkey’s role in peace operations:
Towards a framework of analysis,” in Contemporary Issues in International Politics:
Essays in Honor of Seyfi Taşhan (Ankara: Foreign Policy Institute, 2004), 125-46.
4 Alan Makovsky, “The new activism in Turkish foreign policy,” SAIS Review 19, no.1
(winter 1999): 92-113.
To continue reading
Request your trial