West as a Source of Ontological Insecurity: Tracing Continuity and Change in Anti-Western Discourse in Turkish Foreign Policy

Abstract

Türkiye’s relations with the West have been mainly based on an existential anxiety stemming from the traumatic experience of the shattered Ottoman Empire. The roots of this existential anxiety were the Ottoman Empire’s economic, military, and political backwardness, marginalization from Western states, and eventual collapse in the early 20thcentury. This anxiety has continued to be one of the main factors determining the country’s foreign policy in general and its policies towards the West in particular. Türkiye’s foreign policy elites have developed two contradictory responses to cope with existential anxieties stemming from historical facts. The first response is to pursue a foreign policy leading Türkiye towards full economic, political, and military integration with the West to achieve physical security. This was because, despite traumatic experiences, Western technological and military superiority was seen as a guarantee of Türkiye’s physical security. The second response—anti-Westernism in the discourse—has been developed as a strategic narrative to ensure cohesion around the state and guarantee citizens’ loyalty. Considering the second response to existential anxiety, this paper argues that Türkiye’s anti-Western foreign policy discourse encompasses both continuity and identity-based ideological changes. We also argue that the ontological security theory emphasizing the significance of strategic narratives in states’ efforts to cope with anxieties best explains the continuity and change pattern in Türkiye’s anti-Western foreign policy discourse.