POST-COLD WAR TURKEY-NATO-RUSSIA RELATIONS ON THE CENTRAL ASIA-CAUCASIA AXIS AND THEIR REFLECTIONS ON THE TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY

Yıl 2010, Cilt: 12 Sayı: 1, 109 - 132, 01.06.2010

Gökhan Özkan

Öz

After the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the
international system transformed from a bipolar system into an unipolar system.
Relationship patterns at the regional and global level changed. Many countries
including five Turkish Republics gained independence in the Central Asia and
Caucasus. The region became the focus of interest of regional and global actors
after rich hydrocarbon reserves were discovered in the region. Regional and global
actors competed to consolidate their control on the critical energy infrastructure in
the region.
Since the success of NATO at providing security and stability in Afghanistan
after September 11 gained critical importance with regards to the fight with
terrorism and the future of the Alliance, the region’s geostrategic importance
increased further. In this article, Turkey’s foreign policy in the region was evaluated
within context of her relations with the NATO and Russia.
The end of the Cold War changed the role and the function of the NATO in the
international system. Many prominent scholars argued that NATO lost its “raison
d’etre”. Nonetheless, the Alliance transformed itself from a collective defence
organization into a collective security organization according to new threats. NATO
identified international terrorism, proliferation of nuclear weapons and drugs and
human trafficking as the new threat elements and increased her collaboration with
many countries in the Caucasus and the Central Asia via programs such as
Partnership for Peace (PFP). In this article, the transformation of NATO, the
Alliance’s perspective about the Central Asia and the Caucasus and the
collaborations she made with the region countries were investigated. Turkey’s
relations with the NATO after the Cold War and the cooperation she made with the
Alliance in areas such as international terrorism and energy security were
examined.
Energy security became a priority for many countries and for international
organizations such as NATO and EU especially in the 2000s. Energy security is also
a strategic factor in the political and economic dynamics of the Central Asia and the
Caucasus. Some of the region countries are energy producers while others are
energy consumers and transit countries in a complimentary way. Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are energy producers while Georgia and
Turkey are transit countries. Russia is a major player in the region dynamics since
she controls most of the critical energy infrastructure in the region. The energy rich
Caucasus and the Central Asian countries depend at a great extent on Russia to
export their oil and natural gas reserves.
The US and the EU prefers the transportation of the hydrocarbon reserves of
the region over the routes bypassing the Russian territories to lower the EU’s
dependence on Russia. Baku-Tiflis-Ceyhan oil pipeline that connects the Caspian
Region to the Europe via Georgia and Turkey has a historical significance since it is
the first pipeline that bypassed Russia and broken down Russia’s monopoly at the
transportation dimension. The Nabucco Pipeline, which is planned to carry natural
gas of the Caucasus, the Central Asia and the Middle East to the EU via Turkey, is
supported by the western countries since it would lower energy dependence on
Russia. Russia, as a counter-step, developed the South Stream Project, which would
carry the Russian, the Caspian Region and the Central Asian natural gas via Russia
and the Black Sea to the EU bypassing Turkey and in this way would sustain
Russia’s control on the energy infrastructure.
The clashes between the Russian Federation and Georgia in the summer 2008
showed the fragility of stability in the Caucasus and changed the geopolitical
landscape fundamentally. The clashes between the two countries had reflections and
implications beyond the region at the global level. It is argued that the developments
are indications of return to Realpolitik in the region and even at the global level
after the end of the Cold War. Russia’s military operations stunned the western
world and reminded Russia’s military and political weight particularly in the
region. These developments and the regional policies of Turkey, NATO, the US, the
EU, Russia and China were analyzed in the article.
It was anticipated that Turkey will continue to support the political, military
and economic development of the region countries, cooperate with the NATO in
international terrorism and energy security dimensions, and will try to improve her
relations with Russia.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Turkish Foreign Policy, Central Asia, Caucasia, NATO, Russia

SOĞUK SAVAŞ SONRASI ORTA ASYA VE KAFKASYA EKSENİNDE TÜRKÎYE-NATO-RUSYA İLİŞKİLERİ VE TÜRK DIŞ POLİTİKASI’NA YANSIMALARI

Öz

Soğuk Savaş ’ın sona ermesinden ve Sovyetler Birliği ’nin dağılmasından sonra Orta Asya ve Kafkasya ’da beş Türk Cumhuriyeti dahil birçok ülke bağımsızlıklarını kazanmış, bölgede bulunan zengin hidrokarbon rezervleri bölgeyi küresel ve bölgesel aktörlerin ilgi odağı haline getirmiştir. 11 Eylül sonrasında NATO’nun Afganistan ’da güvenlik ve istikrarı sağlamadaki başarısının terörizmle mücadele ve İttifak’ın geleceği açısından kritik önem kazanması bölgenin jeostratejik önemini daha da arttırmıştır. Bu makalede, Türkiye’nin bölgede izlediği dış politika, NATO ve Rusya ile ilişkileri bağlamında değerlendirilmiştir.NATO’nun Soğuk Savaş sonrası geleneksel bir ortak savunma örgütünden işbirliğine dayalı bir güvenlik örgütüne dönüşümü, bölgeye bakış açısı ve bölge ülkeleriyle yaptığı işbirlikleri irdelenmiştir. Türkiye’nin Soğuk Savaş sonrası NATO ile ilişkileri incelenmiş, bölgede başta terörizmle mücadele ve enerji güvenliği alanlarında olmak üzere İttifak’la yaptığı işbirlikleri ele alınmış, Rusya ve Çin’in bölgesel politikaları analiz edilmiştir.Türkiye’nin bölge ülkelerinin siyasi, askeri ve ekonomik gelişimlerine destek vermeye ve bölgede başta uluslararası terörizm ve enerji güvenliği boyutlarında olmak üzere NATO ile işbirliği yapmaya devam edeceği, Rusya ile ilişkilerini geliştirmeye çalışacağı öngörülmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Türk Dış Politikası, Orta Asya, Kafkasya, NATO, Rusya