Doğu ile Batı Arasında Türkiye: Siyasi Tercih mi, Pragmatizm mi?

Öz

Türkiye’nin Asya-Pasifik ülkeleri ile ilişkileri son dönemlerde Ankara’nın Asya’nın büyük ekonomik güçleri ile ticaret ve yatırım ilişkilerini de artırmasıyla ekonomi odaklı olarak yükselişe geçmiştir. Asya ülkeleriyle bu yakınlaşmanın Türkiye'nin Batı ile ilişkilerinin zor zamanlardan geçtiği bir dönemde gerçekleşmekte olması Türkiye'nin ideolojik olarak Doğu'yu Batı'ya tercih ettiği şeklindeki yanlış bir dikotomiye dayanan popüler önermelere yol açmaktadır. Bu makale, Türkiye'nin dış politika açılımlarını bir grup ülke ile olan ilişkileri diğerleri ile olan ilişkiler pahasına geliştirmek şeklindeki sıfır toplamlı bir tercihden ziyade, stratejik özerklik kazanarak dünyanın önemli bir belirsizlik çağından geçtiği bir zamanda herhangi bir tarafa aşırı bağımlılıktan kaçınma amacına odaklanarak ilişkileri çeşitlendirmeyi amaçlayan pragmatik bir aktivizm olarak yorumlanabileceğini önermektedir. Diğer yandan Türkiye’nin Asya ile ekonomik ilişkilerinin henüz başlangıç aşamasında olduğu ifade edilen makalede Türkiye'nin dış politika pragmatizmi ve stratejik özerklik arayışının yalnızca Asya-Pasifik ile ilişkileri güçlendirmeyi değil, aynı zamanda ABD ve Avrupa Birliği gibi Batı'daki geleneksel ortaklar ve müttefiklerle olan bağları yeniden yapılandırmayı gerektirdiği de belirtilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Türkiye
• dış politika
• ticaret
• pragmatizm
• stratejik özerklik
• Asya Pasifik

Turkey Between the East and the West: Political Preference or Pragmatism?

Öz

Turkey’s relations with the countries of the Asia-Pacific are on the rise with a strong focus on the economic dimension, as Ankara increases its efforts to upgrade its trade and investment links with the economic powerhouses of Asia. This rapprochement with Asian countries takes place at a time when Turkey’s relations with the West are going through difficult times, which leads to popular propositions based on the false dichotomy of Turkey ideologically choosing the East over the West. This article proposes that rather than a binary choice of improving relations with a group of countries at the expense of others, Turkey’s efforts can be more accurately interpreted as pragmatic foreign policy activism aimed at diversifying the country’s relations with a focus on gaining a certain degree of strategic autonomy and avoiding excessive dependence on any party at a time when the world is going through an era of significant uncertainty. It is also noted that while Turkey’s economic relations with Asia are yet to take off in a significant way, Ankara's foreign policy pragmatism and its quest for strategic autonomy require not only strengthening relations with the Asia-Pacific, but also re-calibrating ties with traditional partners and allies in the West such as the United States and the European Union.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Turkey
• foreign policy
• trade
• pragmatism
• strategic autonomy
• Asia Pacific

Kaynakça

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