Back to basics in Turkish foreign policy

Situated in the middle of a crisis-prone neighborhood, Turkey can hardly ignore developments around itself for long. But that is exactly what has happened, as it has been focused on domestic politics since 2014 with a seemingly constant election cycle. 

Although the possibility of holding another early election is still being considered among political circles, Turkey urgently needs to refocus its attention and energy on foreign policy as the international system is crumbling and turmoil around it is ever-deepening. As the invisible boundary between domestic and foreign policies has long disappeared in Turkish policymaking, this might be a good time to reorient Turkish decision-makers' attention to the rapidly changing regional and international developments.

Beyond the perils in its immediate vicinity, Turkey's relations with its long-standing allies have also taken a negative turn in recent years. It was clear during the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Turkey on March 30 that the two countries have not yet found common ground on Syria and the role of Kurds in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 

The visit by Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık to Washington on the eve of the April 15 referendum was also not enough to convince his counterpart James Mattis about Ankara's plans to liberate Raqqa from ISIL without utilizing Kurdish groups. This will still be a divisive issue when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visits Washington on May 16-17 to meet the new U.S. President Donald Trump face-to-face for the first time. The issue might even become more challenging as Turkey has started air strikes against what it perceives as outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) strongholds in Sincar, Iraq and...

Continue reading on: