Until his resignation in 2016, Ahmet Davutoğlu had largely determined the foreign policy discourse of the Justice and Development Party (JDP) governments and his “center state Turkey” discourse had formed the bases of foreign policy practices. Accordingly, activism experienced in Turkish foreign policy in the 2000s has often been considered as a foreign policy transformation identified with Davutoğlu’s foreign policy vision. The study is concerned with the question of whether center state orientation and the activism in Turkish foreign policy in the 2000s is a foreign policy transformation associated with Davutoğlu’s foreign policy vision or not. In the study, discoursive and practical aspects of center state orientation is analyzed. It is argued that ideational basis of Turkey’s center state discourse was founded in the aftermath of the Cold War. It is presented that foreign policy practices related to this discourse like establishing cultural and educational cooperation, developing diplomatic relations, focusing on foreign aid, solving problems with neighbors, playing an active role in regional peace and stability, prioritizing economic relations were started to be put into practice beginning from this period as well. Therefore, although it is a fact that these policies were implemented in a more intense and active way after 2002, saying that they are part of a foreign policy transformation under the JDP rule or Davutoğlu era results in an inadequate reading.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Subjects | International Relations |
Journal Section | Research Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | May 20, 2021 |
Submission Date | October 15, 2020 |
Published in Issue | Year 2021 Volume: 12 Issue: 30 |