An Analysis of Turkish Foreign Policy Toward the Turkic World: Identity and Institutionalisation

Abstract

The evolving identity literature pays insufficient attention to interactions among states that share a common or similar identity. As a result, this dissertation prefers to investigate inter-state relations among states that claim a common or similar identity. It reveals states' historical experiences and questions the extent of cooperation and the motivations for collaboration in a single framework. Understanding Turkic identity and its influence on Turkish Foreign Policy, revealing Turkey's and the Turkic World's historical experiences, and questioning the motivation of states in relations between Turkey and the Turkic World, primarily through the Organization of Turkic States, have been chosen as foci in this regard. The Turkic World became of particular interest to international relations and political science researchers at the end of the twentieth century due to its geopolitical and geostrategic location and the potential of its natural resources. As a result, during this period, the quantity of research on the dynamics of the Turkic World and relations between Turkey and the Turkic World founded on common identities, values, and goals increased. This research investigates Turkic identity and its impact on Turkish foreign policy, particularly since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In this regard, it examines Turkey's foreign policy from Özal's administration in 1989 to the AKP's presidency in 2023. The historical context of Turkish Foreign Policy and the institutional progress in Turkey-Turkic World interactions from the first Turkic-speaking states' summits (Ankara Summit on October 30-31, 1992) to the Organization of Turkic States have been investigated, and the findings presented herein to analyze Turkish Foreign Policy over the last three decades and comprehend the Turkic identity's influence on it.