Is Turkey Pivoting Back to the West?
Is Turkey Pivoting Back to the West?

Summary/Abstract: Under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Turkey’s foreign policy has gone through various stages: Europeanisation, the quest for autonomy (marked by the now famous “zero problems” doctrine) and most lately a swing back to the West. The tectonic shifts in the Middle East and North Africa triggered by the “Arab Awakening” have presented both opportunities but also challenges for Ankara. In the civil war tearing apart Syria, Turkish foreign policy has encountered the most formidable obstacle in projecting its soft power across the neighbourhood. On the contrary, violence has threatened on occasion to spill over into Turkey itself and has furthermore exacerbated existing political tensions. Turmoil in the Middle East has pushed Turkey closer to its long-standing allies in the West, particularly NATO and the U.S. But the constraints facing Ankara’s neighbourhood strategy, coupled with the short and long term challenges with respect to economic development and especially democratic consolidation, are also a welcome reminder of the crucial role played by the EU in shaping Turkish politics and society.

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