From Good Neighbor to Model: Turkey’s Changing Roles in the Middle East in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring

İyi Komşu’dan Model Ülke’ye: Türkiye’nin Ortadoğu’da Arap Baharı Sonrasında Değişen Rolleri

Abstract

Middle Eastern politics. Role theory provides a viable tool to explain changes in actors’ foreignpolicy behaviors, presuming that states’ foreign policies are shaped by the ruling elites’ foreignpolicy role conceptions. This article analyzes Turkish foreign policy roles with regard to theMiddle East and North Africa before and since the Arab uprisings that began in December2010. We argue that these uprisings caused Turkey to change its emphasis from roles builton soft power instruments to harder roles requiring material capabilities. We also discuss theimplications of this change with reference to theories of international politics.

Özet

Son dönemde yaşanan Arap ayaklanmaları bölgenin birçok aktörünü Ortadoğu politikalarını

Keywords: Arap Baharı, Türk Dış Politikası, Rol Kuramı, Dış Politika Analizi