TÜRKİYE’S FOOTHOLD IN THE BASIN EXTENDING FROM THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN TO THE ARABIAN SEA: SCRATCHING AN AD-HOC REGIONAL SECURITY COMPLEX

Öz

Türkiye pursues an effective and assertive foreign policy as a decisive power in the transformations in the regional security architecture in its immediate basin. It is a generally accepted idea today that foreign policy moves are parts of an interconnected and systemic strategy rather than individual initiatives. Recently, the basin extending from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Arabian Sea have brought substantial threats, risks and advantages for Turkish foreign policy. Türkiye has resorted to using bilateral cooperation instruments against these challenges. At a time of evolving global and regional dynamics, a set of foreign policy moves and bilateral cooperations established with certain states in the region has served the common purpose of increasing Türkiye’s political presence and leverage in this basin, leading to the formation of an ad-hoc regional security complex. The study deals with the regional security complex theory with a qualitative approach, analyzes Türkiye's recent engagement with the subject basin in the light of this theory, and puts forward general implications regarding the regional balance of power. The study is assessed to make a unique contribution to the literature as it considers Türkiye's foreign policy moves related to the subject basin as connected and systematic initiatives.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Regional security complex
• Türkiye
• Eastern Mediterranean
• Red Sea
• Gulf of Aden.

TÜRKİYE’NİN DOĞU AKDENİZ’DEN ARAP DENİZİ’NE UZANAN HAVZADA VARLIĞI: ÖZGÜN BİR BÖLGESEL GÜVENLİK KOMPLEKSİNİN ŞEKİLLENDİRİLMESİ

Öz

Türkiye, yakın havzasında bölgesel güvenlik mimarisindeki dönüşümlerde belirleyici bir güç olarak iddialı ve etkili bir dış politika yürütmektedir. Gerçekleştirilen dış politika hamlelerinin münferit girişimlerden ziyade birbiriyle bağlantılı ve sistemik bir stratejinin parçaları olduğu günümüzde genel kabul görmüş bir düşüncedir. Son dönemde Doğu Akdeniz’den Arap Denizi’ne uzanan havza; Türk dış politikası için ciddi tehditler, riskler ve avantajlar getirmiştir. Türkiye, bu sınamalara karşı iş birliği enstrümanlarını kullanmak yoluna gitmiştir. Küresel ve bölgesel dinamiklerin dönüştüğü bir dönemde birtakım dış politika hamleleri ve bölge ülkeleriyle tesis edilen ikili iş birlikleri, Türkiye’nin bu havzada siyasi varlık ve nüfuzunu artırmaya yönelik ortak amaca hizmet ederek özgün bir bölgesel güvenlik kompleksinin meydana gelmesine zemin hazırlamıştır. Çalışma; nitel bir yaklaşımla bölgesel güvenlik kompleksi teorisini ele almakta, Türkiye’nin yakın dönemde bu havzadaki angajmanlarını söz konusu teori ışığında analiz etmekte, bölgesel güç dengesine yönelik genel sonuç ve çıkarımlar ortaya koymaktadır. Türkiye’nin tanımlanan bu havzaya yönelik dış politika hamlelerini bağlantılı ve sistematik inisiyatifler olarak ele alması itibarıyla çalışmanın literatüre özgün bir katkı sağladığı değerlendirilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Bölgesel güvenlik kompleksi
• Türkiye
• Doğu Akdeniz
• Kızıldeniz
• Aden Körfezi.

Kaynakça

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