ABSTRACT
How can we explain the way in which the transformation of Turkish foreign policy has affected the dynamics of Turkey’s relationship with Europe and how the Turkish government has approached foreign policy cooperation and partnership with the EU in the Middle East and North Africa? The stalemate in Turkey’s EU accession talks and security threats emanating from regional conflicts have significantly transformed the nature of Turkey-EU relations and subsequently made cooperation in the area of foreign policy a main driver of the relationship. This book investigates Turkish foreign policy decision-making processes vis-à-vis cooperation with the EU during the course of the Arab Spring and analyses specific “cooperative opportunities” in which the Turkish government took the initiative to act and had a chance to cooperate with the EU. It uses qualitative interviews with policy makers and diplomats to analyse the degree to which foreign policy cooperation took place in reaction to the uprisings in Egypt, Libya, and Syria.
