Neighbourhood Narratives From “Zero Problems With Neighbours” to “Precious Loneliness”: Turkey’s Resecuritized Middle East Policy After the Arab Spring

Abstract

Until the late 2000s, Turkish foreign policy had traditionally faced towards the West. Turkey was known as the loyal partner of the United States and western Europe in the Middle East. Through NATO membership and the EU accession process, Turkey skilfully oriented its foreign policy interests with its neighbours in wider Europe and securitized its Middle Eastern neighbours. This picture has changed drastically since Ahmet Davutoglu, a professor of international relations, took the office of minister of foreign affairs in Turkey. While keeping Ankara’s relations with the West business as usual, Davutoglu has reoriented Turkey’s foreign policy towards the former Ottoman geography, primarily the Middle East and Western Balkans. The new Turkish foreign policy narrative of “zero problems with neighbours” and the new geographical orientation of Turkey were informed by Davutoglu’s iconic book, Strategic Depth. Given Davutoglu’s neo-Ottomanist and conservative background, the emphasis on former Ottoman lands was understandable. Within this context, between 2008 and early 2011 Turkey mended its relations with the Assad regime in Syria, attempted to facilitate nuclear negotiations between the West and Iran, and actively engaged in trade relations with Iraq, the Gulf states, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and North Africa. The “zero problems with neighbours” narrative led to the desecuritization of Turkey’s relations with its Middle Eastern neighbours between 2008 and early 2011.