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The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey's Security Architecture

Year 2025, Issue: 85, 265 - 278, 20.07.2025
https://doi.org/10.51290/dpusbe.1688386

Abstract

This article examines the effects of NATO-EU divergence on Turkey's security architecture from historical, structural, and contemporary perspectives. The tension between NATO's collective defense and the EU's strategic autonomy shapes Turkey's role and security policies. Turkey's defense industry rise, geopolitical position, risks (S-400 crisis, EU exclusion), and opportunities (Black Sea leadership, technological autonomy) are analyzed. In 2025, Trump's withdrawal of Ukraine support deepened the divide, increasing Turkey's importance to the EU, raising demands like visa liberalization and Customs Union revision, and highlighting Turkey's potential in a new world closer to the second group (EU, UK, China) while balancing ties with the first (US, Russia, India, Iran, Israel). Effective management could position Turkey as a global actor, contingent on internal stability, economy, and diplomacy.

References

  • Algür, B. (2020). Changing Turkey, US, and NATO policies in the light of recent international developments in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean. Anatolian Strategy Journal, 2(2), 55-70.
  • Aşcı, F. K., & Öztürk, K. (2017). The normative power of the European Union: A conceptual analysis. Süleyman Demirel University Journal of Institute of Social Sciences 28, 359-370.
  • Atatorun, M. (2023). Establishing the moral ground of Turkey-NATO relations. Electronic Journal of Social Sciences, 22(85), 274-291.
  • Aydın, E. (2019). EU security and Turkey's role: NATO missile shield. Eurasian Journal of International Studies, 7(16), 719-735.
  • Aydın, M. (2015). Turkey's foreign policy and security architecture. İletişim Publications.
  • Balcı, M. M. (2023). The Eastern Mediterranean issue and Turkey's Blue Homeland doctrine. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.Selçuk University, Konya.
  • Baykara, S. T. (2022). Turkey's role in the common security and defense policy (CSDP) as a non-EU NATO member. International Relations and Diplomacy, 5(1), 1-19.
  • Bilgin, P. (2003). The role of security culture in Turkey-EU relations. Europe and Turkey after the Cold War, 192-220.
  • Borger, J. (2025, March 7). Trump says Putin launching a massive strike on Ukraine is 'what anybody would do'. The Guardian.
  • Bölme, S. M. (2022). NATO-Turkey relations. Studia Europejskie, 26(3), 93-116.
  • Casale, G. (2022). Turkey and the future of Europe: A history. Transatlantic Policy Quarterly, 21, 77-83.
  • Çelik, Ü. (2017). EU's global strategy and the EU army debate. EURO Politika (2017 Special Issue), 205-217.
  • Dogan, A., & Kabayel, E. (2023). Defense expenditures: An assessment of Turkey. Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University Journal of Social and Economic Research, 25(45), 1336-1351.
  • Efe, H. (2008). The common foreign and security policy of the European Union. Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1), 66-78.
  • Erol, M. S., & Oğuz, Ş. (2021). Turkey and NATO: Questioning the solidarity. Journal of International Relations Studies, 1(2), 130-148.
  • European Commission. (2022, March 10, 10). EU announces €2 billion military aid package for Ukraine. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_6237
  • Fiott, D. (2020). Financing rhetoric?: The European Defense Fund and dual-use technologies. In Emerging Security Technologies and EU Governance (pp. 42-57). Routledge.
  • Howorth, J. (2020). Strategic autonomy and EU-NATO cooperation: Threat or opportunity for transatlantic defense relations? In Transatlantic Relations in Times of Uncertainty (pp. 18-32). Routledge.
  • Inaç, H. (2021). International security, new world order, and Turkey. Bilge Culture and Art Publications.
  • Kalyayev, A. (2020). European realities of collective defense: NATO and EU relationship issues. Studia nad Bezpieczeństwem, 5, 197-210.
  • Kısacık, S., & Helvacıköylü, G. (2020). Reflections of energy-based military security developments in the Eastern Mediterranean on Turkey's relations with its Eastern Mediterranean neighbors and global powers. UPA Strategic Affairs, 1(1), 85-145.
  • Kostak, E. (2024). The establishment of NATO as a defense alliance during the Cold War and the road to Turkey's membership. History Studies, 16(2), 201-223.
  • Oğuz, Ş. (2023). F-35 crisis between the US and Turkey. Insight Turkey, 25(1), 75-91.
  • Özışık, F. U. (2023). Frames of reference in public policy analysis and the case of Turkey: The rising national defense industry policies in the "domestic and national" new Turkey. Academic Sensitivities, 10(23), 523-559.
  • Purtaş, F. (2005). Turkish-American military relations within the framework of NATO's transformation and expansion after the Cold War. Journal of Security Strategies, 1(02), 7-30.
  • Russia launches devastating attack on Ukraine after Trump's defense of Putin. (2025, March 8). The Guardian.
  • Tocci, N. (2021). Turkey and the European Union: Scenarios for the future. Istituto Affari Internazionali, 21(10), 1-15.
  • Trump needs EU support to end the war, says Ursula von der Leyen. (2025, March 7). The Telegraph.
  • Trump threatens Russia with sanctions until Ukraine peace is reached. (2025, March 7). Reuters.
  • Tsakiris, T. (2021). The energy security evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean: The rise of Turkish revisionism, its counter-coalitions and the geopolitical significance of the East Med Gas Pipeline. In The new eastern mediterranean transformed: emerging ıssues and new actors (pp. 139-158). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  • Turhan, E. (2019). The role of PESCO in the development of the defense dimension of the European Union's common security and defense policy: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Business Administration, 20(2), 347-374. doi: 10.24889/ifede.627263
  • Ünüvar, A. (2024). The development of the EU security architecture and Turkey's place in it.
  • Yigit, H. (2024). Security paradoxes emerging within the framework of NATO's open door policy and its impact on transatlantic relations. Journal of Academic Approaches, 15(2), 1122-1148.
  • Yiğittepe, L. (2017). NATO's security perception and Turkey debates. International Journal of Academic Value Studies, 3(9), 344-359.
  • Yiğittepe, L. (2018). Turkey's security perception between NATO and Russia: The case of the S-400 crisis. Journal of Management and Economics Research, 16(1), 276-289.

NATO-Avrupa Ayrışmasının Türkı̇ye'nı̇n Güvenlı̇k Mı̇marı̇sı̇ Üzerı̇ndekı̇ Etkı̇lerı̇

Year 2025, Issue: 85, 265 - 278, 20.07.2025
https://doi.org/10.51290/dpusbe.1688386

Abstract

Bu makale, Kuzey Atlantik Antlaşması Örgütü (NATO) ve Avrupa Birliği (AB) ayrışmasının Türkiye’nin güvenlik mimarisine etkilerini tarihsel, yapısal ve güncel açılardan inceler. NATO’nun kolektif savunma yapısı ile AB’nin stratejik özerklik arayışı, Türkiye’nin ittifak içindeki rolünü ve güvenlik politikalarını şekillendirir. Savunma sanayisindeki yükseliş, jeopolitik konum, riskler (S-400 krizi, AB’nin dışlayıcılığı) ve fırsatlar (Karadeniz liderliği, teknolojik özerklik) analiz edilmiştir. Trump’ın Ukrayna desteğini kesmesi ayrışmayı derinleştirirken, Türkiye’nin AB için önemi artmış; vize serbestisi, Gümrük Anlaşması revizyonu gibi talepler gündeme gelmiş ve yeni dünya düzeninde Türkiye’nin ikinci grup (AB, İngiltere, Çin) ile yakın, birinci grup (ABD, Rusya, Hindistan, İran, İsrail) ile dengeli ilişkileri öne çıkmıştır. Türkiye, bu ayrışmayı iyi yönetirse küresel bir aktör olabilir; başarı iç istikrar, ekonomi ve diplomasiye bağlıdır.

References

  • Algür, B. (2020). Changing Turkey, US, and NATO policies in the light of recent international developments in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean. Anatolian Strategy Journal, 2(2), 55-70.
  • Aşcı, F. K., & Öztürk, K. (2017). The normative power of the European Union: A conceptual analysis. Süleyman Demirel University Journal of Institute of Social Sciences 28, 359-370.
  • Atatorun, M. (2023). Establishing the moral ground of Turkey-NATO relations. Electronic Journal of Social Sciences, 22(85), 274-291.
  • Aydın, E. (2019). EU security and Turkey's role: NATO missile shield. Eurasian Journal of International Studies, 7(16), 719-735.
  • Aydın, M. (2015). Turkey's foreign policy and security architecture. İletişim Publications.
  • Balcı, M. M. (2023). The Eastern Mediterranean issue and Turkey's Blue Homeland doctrine. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.Selçuk University, Konya.
  • Baykara, S. T. (2022). Turkey's role in the common security and defense policy (CSDP) as a non-EU NATO member. International Relations and Diplomacy, 5(1), 1-19.
  • Bilgin, P. (2003). The role of security culture in Turkey-EU relations. Europe and Turkey after the Cold War, 192-220.
  • Borger, J. (2025, March 7). Trump says Putin launching a massive strike on Ukraine is 'what anybody would do'. The Guardian.
  • Bölme, S. M. (2022). NATO-Turkey relations. Studia Europejskie, 26(3), 93-116.
  • Casale, G. (2022). Turkey and the future of Europe: A history. Transatlantic Policy Quarterly, 21, 77-83.
  • Çelik, Ü. (2017). EU's global strategy and the EU army debate. EURO Politika (2017 Special Issue), 205-217.
  • Dogan, A., & Kabayel, E. (2023). Defense expenditures: An assessment of Turkey. Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University Journal of Social and Economic Research, 25(45), 1336-1351.
  • Efe, H. (2008). The common foreign and security policy of the European Union. Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1), 66-78.
  • Erol, M. S., & Oğuz, Ş. (2021). Turkey and NATO: Questioning the solidarity. Journal of International Relations Studies, 1(2), 130-148.
  • European Commission. (2022, March 10, 10). EU announces €2 billion military aid package for Ukraine. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_6237
  • Fiott, D. (2020). Financing rhetoric?: The European Defense Fund and dual-use technologies. In Emerging Security Technologies and EU Governance (pp. 42-57). Routledge.
  • Howorth, J. (2020). Strategic autonomy and EU-NATO cooperation: Threat or opportunity for transatlantic defense relations? In Transatlantic Relations in Times of Uncertainty (pp. 18-32). Routledge.
  • Inaç, H. (2021). International security, new world order, and Turkey. Bilge Culture and Art Publications.
  • Kalyayev, A. (2020). European realities of collective defense: NATO and EU relationship issues. Studia nad Bezpieczeństwem, 5, 197-210.
  • Kısacık, S., & Helvacıköylü, G. (2020). Reflections of energy-based military security developments in the Eastern Mediterranean on Turkey's relations with its Eastern Mediterranean neighbors and global powers. UPA Strategic Affairs, 1(1), 85-145.
  • Kostak, E. (2024). The establishment of NATO as a defense alliance during the Cold War and the road to Turkey's membership. History Studies, 16(2), 201-223.
  • Oğuz, Ş. (2023). F-35 crisis between the US and Turkey. Insight Turkey, 25(1), 75-91.
  • Özışık, F. U. (2023). Frames of reference in public policy analysis and the case of Turkey: The rising national defense industry policies in the "domestic and national" new Turkey. Academic Sensitivities, 10(23), 523-559.
  • Purtaş, F. (2005). Turkish-American military relations within the framework of NATO's transformation and expansion after the Cold War. Journal of Security Strategies, 1(02), 7-30.
  • Russia launches devastating attack on Ukraine after Trump's defense of Putin. (2025, March 8). The Guardian.
  • Tocci, N. (2021). Turkey and the European Union: Scenarios for the future. Istituto Affari Internazionali, 21(10), 1-15.
  • Trump needs EU support to end the war, says Ursula von der Leyen. (2025, March 7). The Telegraph.
  • Trump threatens Russia with sanctions until Ukraine peace is reached. (2025, March 7). Reuters.
  • Tsakiris, T. (2021). The energy security evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean: The rise of Turkish revisionism, its counter-coalitions and the geopolitical significance of the East Med Gas Pipeline. In The new eastern mediterranean transformed: emerging ıssues and new actors (pp. 139-158). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  • Turhan, E. (2019). The role of PESCO in the development of the defense dimension of the European Union's common security and defense policy: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Business Administration, 20(2), 347-374. doi: 10.24889/ifede.627263
  • Ünüvar, A. (2024). The development of the EU security architecture and Turkey's place in it.
  • Yigit, H. (2024). Security paradoxes emerging within the framework of NATO's open door policy and its impact on transatlantic relations. Journal of Academic Approaches, 15(2), 1122-1148.
  • Yiğittepe, L. (2017). NATO's security perception and Turkey debates. International Journal of Academic Value Studies, 3(9), 344-359.
  • Yiğittepe, L. (2018). Turkey's security perception between NATO and Russia: The case of the S-400 crisis. Journal of Management and Economics Research, 16(1), 276-289.
There are 35 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects European Union-Turkiye Relations, International Security, Security Studies
Journal Section RESEARCH ARTICLES
Authors

Hüsamettin İnaç 0000-0002-6922-2010

Sevim Nur Aydın 0000-0001-6884-6916

Publication Date July 20, 2025
Submission Date May 1, 2025
Acceptance Date July 17, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Issue: 85

Cite

APA İnaç, H., & Aydın, S. N. (2025). The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey’s Security Architecture. Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi(85), 265-278. https://doi.org/10.51290/dpusbe.1688386
AMA İnaç H, Aydın SN. The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey’s Security Architecture. Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi. July 2025;(85):265-278. doi:10.51290/dpusbe.1688386
Chicago İnaç, Hüsamettin, and Sevim Nur Aydın. “The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey’s Security Architecture”. Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, no. 85 (July 2025): 265-78. https://doi.org/10.51290/dpusbe.1688386.
EndNote İnaç H, Aydın SN (July 1, 2025) The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey’s Security Architecture. Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 85 265–278.
IEEE H. İnaç and S. N. Aydın, “The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey’s Security Architecture”, Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, no. 85, pp. 265–278, July2025, doi: 10.51290/dpusbe.1688386.
ISNAD İnaç, Hüsamettin - Aydın, Sevim Nur. “The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey’s Security Architecture”. Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 85 (July2025), 265-278. https://doi.org/10.51290/dpusbe.1688386.
JAMA İnaç H, Aydın SN. The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey’s Security Architecture. Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi. 2025;:265–278.
MLA İnaç, Hüsamettin and Sevim Nur Aydın. “The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey’s Security Architecture”. Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, no. 85, 2025, pp. 265-78, doi:10.51290/dpusbe.1688386.
Vancouver İnaç H, Aydın SN. The Effects of the NATO-European Divergence on Turkey’s Security Architecture. Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi. 2025(85):265-78.