Türkiye’s Multi-Sector Connectivity Agenda in the Balkans
Öz
This article conceptualizes connectivity as a multi-dimensional policy agenda and examines Türkiye’s engagement with the Balkans in transport, energy, and digital sectors through the “hard/soft” distinction. It argues that Türkiye’s approach is not limited to building or financing infrastructure; it also relies on governance instruments—agreements, coordination mechanisms, interoperability standards, institutional cooperation, and mobility-enabling links—that make cross-border networks work in practice. In transport, Türkiye links broad corridor discourses to concrete Balkan-facing interfaces, including rail connections, air mobility, border-capacity initiatives with Bulgaria and Greece, and implementation on intra-regional routes such as the Belgrade–Sarajevo motorway section. In energy, connectivity appears as operational integration and corridor geopolitics, from synchronization with the Continental Europe electricity system through Bulgaria and Greece to gas routes that can diversify supply (TANAP–TAP and LNG access) or reinforce dependence (TurkStream), alongside governance layers such as the BOTAŞ–Bulgargaz arrangement. In digital connectivity, Türkiye combines capacity-building cooperation such as eGovernment with strategic assets such as satellites and Türkiye-linked Black Sea data-corridor infrastructure. Based on qualitative desk research and document analysis of official statements, agreements, policy documents, and sectoral reports, the article clarifies how Türkiye frames connectivity, prioritizes instruments, and sustains engagement amid EU uncertainty and post-2022 corridor politics.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kaynakça
- AMNA (2026) PM Mitsotakis: With the Improvements at the Kipi Border Station, Greece Will Have the Exit and Entry Point to Turkiye It Deserves. February 25. [https://www.amna.gr/en/article/972911/PM-Mitsotakis-With-the-improvements-at-the-Kipi-Border-Station—Greece-will-have-the-exit-and-entry-point-to-Turkiye-it-deserves](https://www.amna.gr/en/article/972911/PM-Mitsotakis-With-the-improvements-at-the-Kipi-Border-Station—Greece-will-have-the-exit-and-entry-point-to-Turkiye-it-deserves) (Accessed: 10.05.2026).
- Anadolu Ajansı (2019) Bosnia: Route Set for New Sarajevo-Belgrade Highway. February 26. [https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/bosnia-route-set-for-new-sarajevo-belgrade-highway/1403667](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/bosnia-route-set-for-new-sarajevo-belgrade-highway/1403667) (Accessed: 10.05.2026).
- Anadolu Ajansı (2026) Halkalı-Kapıkule Hızlı Tren Projesi ilk etabında test sürüşleri başladı. April 28. [https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/halkali-kapikule-hizli-tren-projesi-ilk-etabinda-test-surusleri-basladi/3920169](https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/halkali-kapikule-hizli-tren-projesi-ilk-etabinda-test-surusleri-basladi/3920169) (Accessed: 11.05.2026).
- AP News (2025) Russian Gas Stops Flowing Via Ukraine to Europe After a Prewar Deal Expired. January 1. [https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-gas-transit-supplies-gazprom-7775fea34a7be9723b991d835a7ebd6f](https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-gas-transit-supplies-gazprom-7775fea34a7be9723b991d835a7ebd6f) (Accessed: 01.05.2026).
- Associated Press (2023) Bulgaria Signs Deal to Use Turkey’s Gas Terminals. January 3. [https://apnews.com/article/bulgaria-turkey-business-79a0f7549d52339f6829fb4ab99d426d](https://apnews.com/article/bulgaria-turkey-business-79a0f7549d52339f6829fb4ab99d426d) (Accessed: 09.01.2026).
- Aytekin, C. E. (2025) Infrastructure Diplomacy and the Geo-Economics of Gulf Regional Order. Journal of Regional Studies 9(2), 197-213.
- BDZ Passengers (n.d.) Sofia–Halkali–Sofia. [https://www.bdz.bg/en/a/sofia-istanbul-sofia](https://www.bdz.bg/en/a/sofia-istanbul-sofia) (Accessed: 03.05.2026).
- Bouzarovski, S., Bradshaw, M. & Wochnik, A. (2015) Making Territory through Infrastructure: The Governance of Natural Gas Transit in Europe. Geoforum 64, 217-228. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.06.022](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.06.022).
Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
Uluslararası İlişkiler (Diğer)
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Yazarlar
Dilek Kütük
*
0000-0002-4782-5953
Türkiye
Yayımlanma Tarihi
25 Ağustos 2026
Gönderilme Tarihi
9 Şubat 2026
Kabul Tarihi
20 Temmuz 2026
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2026 Cilt: 14 Sayı: Özel Sayı