Ankara Torn Apart: Arab Spring Turns into Turkey’s Autumn

Abstract

The end of the threat posed by Kurdish separationism and the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000s created an international environment perfectly conducive for Turkey to play more active and dynamic role in the Middle East. The ruling party in Turkey, Justice and Development Party (JDP) ably benefitted from this international environment and expanded Turkey‟s influence in the region. Through a multi-level analysis of Turkish foreign policy under the JDP, this paper argues that the Arab revolutions/rebellions of 2011 have been undermining the very international environment the JDP found conducive for its foreign policy.