scholarly journals Development of Turkish Foreign Policy Towards the Western Balkans with Focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (86) ◽  
pp. 96-129
Author(s):  
Ešref Kenan Rašidagić ◽  
Zora Hesova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Turkish Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Regional Influence

Under the AKP government, Turkey’s foreign policy towards the Western Balkans, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular, has led many analysts to suspect it of possessing neo-imperial, or so-called neo-Ottoman, objectives. These suspicions have been compounded by the repeated declarations of former Prime Minister Davutoğlu and current President Erdoğan that the history and religious identity shared by Turks and Western Balkan Muslims forms the basis of both Turkish-Balkan relations and a common future. Critical examination of official Ankara’s attitudes toward the Western Balkans in general, and especially Bosnia and Herzegovina, identifies four distinct phases in which cultural, historical, and religious appeals morphed into the set of distinctive foreign policies. These policies have also been shaped by pragmatic pursuits of regional influence, the effects of internal (Turkish) transformations, and more recently, the ad hoc policies of President Erdoğan. This article will reconstruct the development of Turkish foreign policy since 1990, from multilateral and soft power efforts to religious and economic objectives, and will analyse the limits of this policy.

scholarly journals From Convergence to Divergence: The Compatibility of Turkish and EU Foreign Policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 323-346
Author(s):  
Zerrin Torun
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Turkish Foreign Policy ◽  
Eu Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Foreign And Security Policy ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThis chapter assesses the compatibility of Turkish and EU foreign policies between 1959 and 2020. Based on the analysis of key international developments and Turkey’s alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the chapter identifies four periods that were characterized by different degrees of convergence and divergence. In the period between 1959 and 1998 compatibility was relatively high as Turkish foreign policy was guided by the goal of remaining part of the Western community of states throughout the Cold War and its immediate aftermath. Between 1999 and 2002, Turkish foreign policy became regionally more active, in a similar way to that of the EU, but produced few results. The period between 2003 and 2010, up to the Arab Spring, is identified as the ‘golden age’ of compatibility between Turkish and EU foreign policies. Turkey’s prevailing ethos of this period, i.e., relying on soft power and cooperation with neighbors, was generally in line with the EU’s foreign policy approach. Since 2011, divergences between the EU and Turkey have increased, in particular with regard to Syria, Cyprus, and the Eastern Mediterranean. As Turkey defined its norms and interests differently from the EU, its rate of alignment with the EU’s CFSP decreased remarkably. The chapter concludes by looking to the future, arguing that cooperation between the EU and Turkey is likely to focus on issues where there is strong compatibility in selected areas only, such as pandemics, counterterrorism, migration, and energy, and will be primarily based on ad hoc mechanisms.

scholarly journals Influence of Turkish Foreign Policy in Albania

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Blendi Lami
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Turkish Foreign Policy ◽  
Full Penetration ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
Western Balkan Region ◽  
Balkan Region

This paper inquires into the overall picture of the Turkish foreign policy toward Western Balkans, and especially Albania, on the geopolitical plan. It explores the new Turkish policy principles, Davotuglu’s strategic vision, and the extent to which the geopolitics of both Turkey and Albania inform Turkish foreign policy. This paper also delineates the perceptions of Albania towards Turkey’s foreign policy and contradictions of the same policy. According to Davutoglu, the architect of Turkish foreign policy, Turkey is a Middle Eastern, Balkan, Caucasian, Central Asian, Caspian, Mediterranean, Gulf and Black Sea country, can simultaneously exercise influence in all these regions and thus claim a global strategic role, rejecting the perception of Turkey as a bridge between Islam and the West, as this would relegate Turkey to an instrument for the promotion of the strategic interests of other countries. To achieve this, Turkey should capitalise on its soft power potential. Davutoglu argues that Turkey possesses “strategic depth” due to its history and geographic position and lists Turkey among a small group of countries which he calls “central powers”. Taking such a role Turkey has also great interest in Albania as it is considered the best state to promote Turkish interests within the Western Balkan region. However, there are several obstacles limiting Turkey’s full penetration into the Western Balkans.

14. The International Politics of the Gulf

2019 ◽  
pp. 317-338
Author(s):  
Matteo Legrenzi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
External Threats ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Regional Influence ◽  
External Actors ◽  
The Arab Spring

This chapter focuses on the international politics of the Gulf region, which are defined by the interplay of the local states and outside powers. The domestic framework and its interactions with transnational influences and external actors are crucial to understanding the environment within which local states operate — whether revolutionary Iran, Saddam Hussein's Iraq, or the Gulf monarchies themselves. Given that regime security drives states in their foreign policies, the need to cope with both internal and external threats is compelling. Outside actors are important in as much as they supply or help to combat such threats. The withdrawal of US forces from Iraq and the relative immunity of the Gulf monarchies from the effects of the Arab Spring have afforded these states greater regional influence and autonomy, but events since 2015 also reveal deep divides among them over issues like IS, Iranian foreign policy, and the war in Yemen.

Human Rights and Foreign Policy

1982 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 574-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Donnelly
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
National Interest ◽  
Philosophical Analysis ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
New Work ◽  
Moral Force ◽  
Foreign Policies

Five recent books reveal the beginnings of important new work in conceptualizing the place of human rights concerns in national foreign policies. The moral force of claims of human rights requires that they be given serious consideration in foreign policy. Philosophical analysis also shows that categorical moral distinctions between personal (or civil and political) and economic and social rights must be abandoned. Any justifiable priority for one class of rights must rest on strategic or political, not conceptual or moral, grounds. Since human rights are only one of many foreign policy concerns, tradeoffs with other goals, interests, and values will be necessary. However, human rights and the national interest are often complementary. The “tradeoffs” actually made should be principled, instrumental decisions, rather than apparently ad hoc or cynical sacrifices of human rights.

scholarly journals Bosnia and Herzegovina on the uncertain path towards the membership in NATO

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-360
Author(s):  
Dragan Djukanovic
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Republic

The path of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards NATO membership began after its entry into the Partnership for Peace in November 2006. In just a few years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has achieved an intensive dialogue with NATO (2008) and the launch of negotiations on the Membership Action Plan (2010), which was however activated in December 2018. In the meantime, there have come to a discord between the key internal political factors in Bosnia and Herzegovina and particularly clear distinction between the Bosniak and Croat elites that unequivocally support NATO membership, and representatives of Serbs at the state level and the Republic of Srpska who are currently against it. Moreover, in October 2017, the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska took a stand by which it proclaimed the military neutrality of this entity and in that regard insisted on consultations with the neighboring state - the Republic of Serbia. However, in March 2018, the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted a five-year strategic foreign policy document which stipulates that NATO membership is one of its foreign policy foundations. This document only added to the confusion regarding BiH?s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Following the general elections held in October 2018, this issue has now posed a specific problem over the formation of the Council of Ministers. Neighbors of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro have different opinions concerning the possibility of membership of this country in NATO. Accordingly, Croatia declaratively expresses support and emphasizes its interest in integrating BiH into NATO to prevent cross-border security challenges. Serbian officials are quite restrained about BiH?s entry into NATO, saying that this should be the result of the compromise of the elites of the three constituent nations. The global race between the United States and the Russian Federation represents a turning point in terms of BiH?s membership in NATO. The United States strongly supports this process, believing that it will secure the post-conflict Western Balkans project, while Russia retains the explicit position that any new enlargement poses a problem for its security.

scholarly journals The V4 Countries’ Foreign Policy concerning the Western Balkans

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-164
Author(s):  
Christina Griessler
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Western Balkan Region ◽  
European Values ◽  
Balkan Region

Abstract This contribution explores the Visegrad Four’s (V4) foreign policy initiatives in the Western Balkans by considering each state’s interests and policies and the evolution of joint V4 objectives. My underlying hypothesis is that the foreign policy‑related behaviour of individual states is shaped by certain roles that they assume and by their national interests. This work uses role theory to explain the V4 states’ foreign policies both generally and in the specific case of the Western Balkans. The V4 have prioritised cooperation with this region, and I analyse the programmes of the last four V4 presidencies (Slovakia 2014-2015, the Czech Republic 2015-2016, Poland 2016-2017 and Hungary 2017-2018) to reveal key foreign policy objectives and explore why they were selected. At the same time, I examine the interests of each V4 country and the reasons for their joint attention to the Western Balkan region. My analysis shows that the V4 perceive themselves as supportive and constructive EU and NATO members and see their policies as reflective of European values. Moreover, they believe they should contribute to EU enlargement by sharing experiences of economic and political transformation with the Western Balkan states and serving as role models.

scholarly journals Features and Priorities of Foreign Policy of Turkey in the Countries of the Middle East and North Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 35-39
Author(s):  
Oleg Nikolaevich Glazunov ◽  
Yulia Alexandrovna Davydova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Regional Policy ◽  
Turkish Foreign Policy ◽  
Global Leader ◽  
Global Player ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Regional Processes

This paper examines the features of Turkish foreign policy in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa. The attempt to analyze the influence of Anka-ra on global and regional processes has been made. The author examines the phenomenon of “neo-Ottomanism” in the context of regional policy of Turkey. The special attention is paid to the manifes-tations of this phenomenon in the post-Soviet re-gion and the Middle East, as well as “soft power” in Turkish diplomacy. Nowadays Turkey is positioning itself as a global player, which is involved in the main geopolitical processes and is trying to extend its influence to neighboring regions. It is concluded that the combination of military and political poten-tial with “soft” instruments gives Ankara the oppor-tunity to declare itself as an authoritative regional and global leader. The authors predict possible di-rections of Turkish foreign policy in the near future.

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