Turkish Soft Balancing Against the EU? An Analysis of the Prospects for Improved Transatlantic Security Relations (original) (raw)

Changing Dynamics of Turkish Foreign Policy and the European Union

Turkey’s negotiations for accession to the European Union are going through a difficult period while Turkish foreign policy is in the midst of a rapid change with active involvement in adjacent regions such as the Middle East. As long as Turkey defends norms such as peace and democracy, which are compatible with EU values, the active policy of engagement may contribute to an expansion of the zone of stability and security outside of the EU. Turkey may become a competent carrier and transmitter of such norms and values. However, Turkey needs also to clearly define its priorities in its foreign policy, and achieve a credible balance between its commitments and capabilities.

The EU and Turkey at the Time of New Geopolitical Tendencies

Contemporary Approaches in Social Science Researches, 2019

In order to contribute to international security, the European Union (EU) member states, candidates and partners of the common EU policies are thought as basic actors to promote or reflect the EU’s global mission with reference to foreign policy partnerships. However the link among the EU members, candidates and other partners is affected by internal and external political and bureaucratic processes. Turkey can also be considered as such, an affected EU candidate. The EU members had difficulty in perceiving the Turkish government’s transition from the use of soft power to hard power starting in the late 2000s due to Turkey’s security vulnerabilities. The diverging threat perceptions of Turkey and the EU are the basic elements of this paper. In this context; emphasizing on ‘unilateralization’ and 're-nationalization', this study gives us an opportunity to analyze the EU’s liberal approach to global as well as regional policies and its security culture, and furthermore Turkey’s realist military-centered strategy with reference to realism and security approaches by investigating threats created towards Turkey and the EU by the Syrian civil war. 'Unilateralization' within the Turkish foreign policy has become a distinctive political practice in its regional inferences after 2007. Turkey and the EU have begun to perceive concepts of military security and threat perception in different ways. This has also been a result of 're-nationalization' in the EU. In this way, the EU's potential as a regional and global diplomatic and security actor at a time of geopolitical shifts have become valuable to examine. The principle goal of this paper is to make a contribution to the views on relations between the EU and its partners by drawing attention to the importance of national and local vulnerabilities in the foreign and security policy making, to form sustainable and peaceful partnerships and to ease erosion in closer unions because of uncommon foreign and security policies. The aims are also to assess the unilateralization process of Turkey and the renationalization process of the EU in terms of foreign and security policies; to contribute towards developing a common security and threat perception between the two sides considering the integration process; to contribute to strengthening partnerships to find a peaceful settlement to regional crises like the Syrian civil war. This study tries to answer the first question of why alienation has increased between Turkey and the EU since 2007, despite the accession negotiations which lead to an anticipation towards the establishment of a greater integration with the EU. The second question is about the possibility of reaching a common-denominator. Wherein which Turkey and the EU perceive similar political perceptions in an agreed environment to draw Turkey and the EU to a 'functional partnership' by means of a division of labor in specific policy areas such as the common foreign and security policy, while they have security problems. In this way, the paper tries to make connections between national vulnerabilities and EU based policy partnerships. The third question is why the EU and its members could not perceive Turkey’s reference to use hard power despite its security vulnerabilities. Diverging threat perceptions of Turkey and the EU are basic elements of the research with reference to different geopolitical perspectives.

NATO-EU Cooperation and Turkey

NATO-EU cooperation almost came to a halt after 2004. This article scrutinizes the evolution of NATO-EU cooperation and argues that the major problem with regard to this cooperation goes beyond the vetoes by Turkey and Cyprus. Rather, there is a deeper and historically embedded dynamic at play: the traditional divide between Europeanists and Transatlanticists and how this leads to a decoupling in NATO. An understanding on the part of the Europeanist Allies that they also have commitments towards NATO is needed.

NATO and Turkey in the Post-Cold War World: between Abondonment and Entrapment

Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 2012

For the last two decades, two fears have largely shaped Turkey’s view of NATO. These are fears of entrapment and abandonment. Both are symptoms of a type of security dilemma that is peculiar to military alliances and coalitions. Both fears had their origins in the Cold War in the context of Turkey’s 60-year-old NATO membership. They also led to the pursuit of autonomy in Turkish foreign policy both as a response strategy and as a strategic choice in its own right. While the former version featured a heavy dose of reliance on military means or hard power, the latter version de-emphasized the military option in foreign policy and relied instead on soft power. A multitude of dynamics accounts for variations in the Turkish approach to NATO for the last two decades: Geography and regional considerations, the transatlantic dynamics, NATO’s restructuring and transformation and Turkey’s domestic dynamics. It may be suggested that NATO membership now looms large in the strategic calculations of the new Turkish elite in the aftermath of the Arab Awakening. This development might be the harbinger of the end of an era marked by fears and the pursuit of autonomy in Turkey’s approach to NATO.

Turkey and European Security Institutions

Turkey’s relationships with the West, particularly its relationship with Western security institutions, are today more important than ever. As the United States fights two wars in the region and attempts to rebuild its reputation in Europe and the Middle East, Turkey is once again central to America’s plans. Yet, this crucial ally is little understood by U.S. policy makers. Turkey has a long relationship with Euro-Atlantic security institutions, specifically NATO and the various European institutions, culminating in today’s European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). The following study poses the following questions of relevance to those interested in theory and policy. Why do the government and people of Turkey participate in these institutions? What long-term policy objectives do makers of policy in Turkey wish to advance through its participation in these institutions? What are the different ways that Turkey leverages its participation to advance its goals? Specifically, how does Turkey use its participation in European security institutions to advance its positions on issues such as European Union membership, defense modernization, and its ongoing internal and external areas of conflict? How does Turkey’s Ottoman legacy affect these relationships and how has this historical background shaped today’s events? This thesis also sets out to answer whether Turkey is successful in its participation; in other words, does its participation allow Turkey to advance its goals better? How do current trends in Europe affect Turkey’s participation in these institutions?

The Role of Turkey in EU Policies in the 2000s: An Examination of Foreign Policy Partnership

Negotiation process which constitutes the institutional and legal basis for EUTurkey relations cannot progress smoothly. Weakening of EU conditionality and the regional crises play a crucial role in this result. It has been observed that the soft power policy that Turkey has adopted at both international and regional level from the beginning of the 2000s to 2007 has been complemented by the hard power policy again particularly in internal security issues after 2007. In addition, since 2010 the reflections on the national security concerns have reinforced the adaptation of the hard power policy choice. This paper attempts to point out that how the following process in the future periods should balance between the ideal policies based on the norms and values that Turkey and the EU follow and the real politics regarding the enlargement of operational capacity.

Making Sense of Turkey's Rising Power Status: What Does Turkey's Approach Within NATO Tell Us?

This article tries to decode Turkey’s rise in the context of relations with Western powers within NATO. The main question to be answered is whether Turkey’s rise can be interpreted as a challenge to the primacy of the current international order that has been to a significant extent shaped by the Western powers. Unlike other rising powers, Turkey has developed strong institutional relations with these states. NATO is one of those institutional platforms in which Turkey has been in close contact with the established Western powers. The positions that Turkey has adopted on the issues occupying NATO’s transformation agenda can offer clues as to how to interpret Turkey’s recent rise.