Türkiye

Türkiye at Crossroads amid Geopolitical Shifts

Türkiye’s policy moves in the last couple of decades in its regional and global relations have prompted questions regarding its aims, strategies, and place in the world. While superficial looks rapidly move into questioning Türkiye’s value and loyalty to its partners, deeper analyses reveal a much more complex outlook and complicated policymaking process with a multi-level pro-con analysis. Given recent interest in Europe and Germany regarding Türkiye’s evolving role in European security, defence, migration management, and energy interests, this paper examines Türkiye’s recent balancing act between the East and the West, as well as between its traditional allies and newly emerged partners, amid global and regional changes. This is an attempt to go beyond simplified outlooks and decipher the deeper foundations of Türkiye’s efforts to achieve strategic autonomy in its foreign and security policies. It will shed light on the country's recent gradual realignment towards its traditional partnership patterns, while maintaining its newly developed relationships. Finally, it assesses how Türkiye can be reintegrated as a constructive security partner for the West.