1st Edition
Harmonizing Foreign Policy Turkey, the EU and the Middle East
The change in Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East in the post-Cold War era is a highly debated issue, with most experts believing that Europeanization has become the driving force behind this change. This book takes the cases of Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as two important illustrations. Both cases present dynamic issues of conflict in the region and are high on Turkey's agenda in terms of its policies towards the region. Focusing on issues related to EU integration, the study examines the formation of a common foreign policy in general and a common policy towards the Middle East in particular. It also investigates decision making in Turkish foreign policy and foreign policy towards the Middle East before and after EU candidature. As such it provides valuable insights into how parties interact with each other and the way in which foreign policies can be harmonized.
Biography
Dr Mesut Özcan is based at the Istanbul Commerce University, Turkey.
'This comprehensive, illuminating, and balanced assessment of Turkey's foreign policy is an invaluable resource for any serious student of this vitally important country, and indeed the region.' Richard Falk, Princeton University, USA '...brings together the three ends of the EU-Middle East-Turkey triangle in a novel and unique manner by investigating the impact of "Europeanization" on the substance and making of Turkish foreign policy.' Kemal Kirisçi, Bogazici University, Turkey 'In a period of intense debate about Turkey's role in its Middle Eastern neighbourhood, this book is very timely. It investigates whether the EU conditionality motivates change in Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East. In this sense, it adds a crucial EU dimension to the extant scholarship on Turkey-Middle East relations.' Political Studies Review 'Harmonizing Foreign Policy is a significant contribution to the literature on Turkey's foreign policy in its introduction of the recently coined concept of Europeanization to complicate further the current analyses.' Journal of Cyprus Studies 'The book provides compelling evidence for the harmonization of Turkish foreign policy in line with the EU accession process in one of the most complex areas of Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East. All in all, this book constitutes an important contribution to the literature on Europeanization as well as Turkish foreign policy.' Insight Turkey
