İngiliz Stratejisinde Türk Boğazları (1774-1923): Osmanlı İmparatorluğu, İngiltere ve Rusya’yı Dengeleyen Coğrafya

Yıl 2025, Sayı: 10, 49 - 83, 15.10.2025

İsmail Ediz

https://doi.org/10.54462/kadim.1720292

Öz

Bu makale, coğrafyanın İngiliz dış politika yapımı üzerindeki stratejik etkisini Türk Boğazları örneği üzerinden incelemektedir. Çalışmanın temel argümanı, coğrafyanın iki zıt paradigma arasında Britanya'nın uzun vadeli diplomatik ve askeri stratejisini şekillendiren yapısal bir değiştirici işlevi gördüğüdür. Bunlar, Rusya'yı kontrol altına almak için tasarlanan kapatma politikası ve Britanya'nın deniz erişimini korumayı amaçlayan özgürlük politikasıdır. 18. yüzyılın sonlarından I. Dünya Savaşı sonrası döneme kadar diplomatik kayıtlar ve antlaşmalardan yararlanan çalışma, Britanya'nın Boğazlar'a yönelik değişen yaklaşımlarının yalnızca anlık jeopolitik değişikliklerden değil, aynı zamanda kalıcı coğrafi kısıtlamalardan kaynaklandığını göstermektedir. Bulgular, coğrafi dar geçitlerin büyük güç diplomasisinin mantığını ve sınırlarını şekillendirmedeki kalıcı etkisini ortaya koymaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Coğraafya , Osmanlı İmparatorluğu , İngiliz Stratejisi , Türk Boğazları , Rusya

The Turkish Straits in British Strategy (1774-1923): Geography Balancing the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and Russia

Öz

This article examines the strategic impact of geography on British foreign policy-making through the case of the Turkish Straits. It argues that geography functioned as a structural modifier, which shaped Britain’s long-term diplomatic and military strategy between two contrasting paradigms. These are the policies of closure of the Straits, designed to contain Russia, and the policy of freedom, intended to preserve British naval access. Drawing on diplomatic records and treaty developments from the late 18th century through the post-World War I period, the study shows how Britain’s shifting approaches to the Straits were driven not merely by immediate geopolitical changes but by persistent geographic constraints. The findings demonstrate the enduring influence of geographic chokepoints in shaping the logic and limits of great power diplomacy.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Geograaphy , Ottoman Empire , British Strategy , Turkish Straits , Russia

Kaynakça

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