ABSTRACT
Since the end of the Cold War, Turkey has been a multiregional participant in international politics. The transformation of Turkish foreign policy took place over two phases that parallel the conversion of global politics from Cold War “bipolarity” into a “new world order.” The first phase runs from 1990 to early 2003; the second from the beginning of March 2003 through 2009. This sea change in world politics raised new risks for international conflicts and new opportunities for alignments for global and regional powers, including Turkey. For Turkey, the first phase of the post-Cold War period heralded the metamorphosis of its foreign policy from a predominantly pro-Western orientation to its becoming a more independent player in regional politics of the new world order. The second phase witnessed a continuation of the transformation under the government of the Justice and Development Party (JDP), which came to power in 2002. Implementing the vision of Ahmet Davutogğlu, who served as advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogğan from 2003 and then as foreign minister from May 2009, the JDP government has accelerated Turkey’s active participation in multiregional politics.
