ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a critical analysis of the changing dynamics of Turkey’s relations with Western powers over the course of the last 15 years since the ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP or AK Party) came to power. Given the legacy of a strong historical and institutional relationship between Turkey and the West, analysts would do well to focus on the rational and structural framework of this relationship in order to answer whether there has been a shift of axis in Turkey’s international orientation away from the West to other geographies – notably to Eurasia. The main argument is that the confluence of some internal and external factors during this time period seems to have accelerated the erosion of trust and common strategic-security bonds between Turkey and the Western powers. This study offers a systemic explanation of Turkey’s foreign policy orientation yet equally highlights the role of internal factors, such as the geopolitical vision and world view of Turkey’s ruling elites, in interpreting the emerging international environment. The way Turkey has responded to emerging dynamics in the structure of international order during this time period has been decisively informed by geopolitical imaginations and world views of the ruling elites.
