Turkey’s Regional Approach in Afghanistan: A Civilian Power in Action
Turkey’s Regional Approach in Afghanistan: A Civilian Power in Action

Author(s): Şaban Kardaş
Subject(s): International relations/trade, Security and defense
Published by: Atatürk Stratejik Araştırmalar Enstitüsü
Summary/Abstract: This policy brief studies Turkey’s contributions to the resolution of the Afghan conflict by focusing on its regional approach. The brief puts forth the argument that Afghanistan pro-vides a good show-case to demonstrate the elements of a new security culture Turkey has adopted in its post-Cold War transformation. Reflecting the growing power of civilians in the making of foreign policy, Turkey’s security culture has evolved in ways that it has em-braced many liberal elements, which can be grouped under the concept of cooperative se-curity. After a review of Turkey’s involvement in Afghanistan in the post-2001 period, the brief traces how the notions of Afghan ownership and regional participation, products of Turkey’s civilian power security culture, have shaped its response to this conflict-ridden country. A special attention is placed on various e orts Turkey has undertaken to regional-ize its objective of political stabilization, and social and economic reconstruction of Af-ghanistan, as well as the question of how its Afghanistan policy figured in Ankara’s rela-tionship with the United States.

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