Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü Koleksiyonu

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11779/1939

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  • Book Part
    Testing Soft Power in Hard Politics: Turkish Public Diplomacy During “Operation Peace Spring”
    (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025) Güleç Aras, Cansu; Kibaroğlu, Mustafa
    Public diplomacy is used by governments to significantly enhance their capability to maintain national unity and integrity as well as to advance their foreign policy objectives by cultivating a favorable environment among foreign peoples. In conflictual situations where military force is used, it is important to create an impact in a short time to promote national interests by informing and influencing the public. This chapter will first introduce the fundamental tenets of public diplomacy to offer a conceptual framework to better understand its use during military conflicts. It will then explore the implementation of public diplomacy instruments by Turkish government during the “Operation Peace Spring”, which was launched in October 2019. The chapter will also assess the performance of Turkish public diplomacy in the face of the extent of criticism leveled against Türkiye from around the world, including allied countries and international organizations.
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    A Comparative Analysis of Ruling Right-wing Populism towards Globalization in the Context of Refugee Crises: The Cases of Turkey and Hungary
    (2023) Saatçioğlu, Beken
    How do governing, right-wing populist parties in and outside the EU approach globalization on the issue of international migration? This paper addresses this question by focusing on Hungary’s Fidesz and Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the context of the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis. It studies the discourses of these parties and their leaders regarding the liberal international order and the EU, and evaluates whether EU membership makes a difference in these arguments. This fills a gap in the literature because how ruling right-wing populism in middle-power states like Hungary and Turkey challenges the global system, and what kind of globalization or de-globalization it asks for in the light of migration issues remains to be scrutinized. The paper argues: (1) Fidesz and AKP are both “selective globalizers” that still challenge globalization and the EU within a populist foreign policy framework pitting “liberal, corrupt, global, EU elites” against the people (Christians for Fidesz, Syrian Muslim refugees for the AKP), (2) They differ because: (a) Fidesz’ challenges heavily focus on the EU while the AKP’s discourse extends to the global system and its institutions (the UN), (b) Fidesz’ EU contestation revolves around the need to protect “Hungarian sovereignty” and “Christian European culture” from “Brussels elites” while AKP’s rhetoric primarily reflects expectations of satisfactory “transactionalism” from the EU.
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    Contesting the EU’s Legitimacy over the Refugee and Rule of Law Crises: Insights from Turkey and Hungary
    (2022) Buhari-Gulmez, Didem; Soyaltin-Coella, Digdem; Saatçioğlu, Beken
    This paper studies how the representatives of illiberal governing parties in two illiberal regimes (Hungary and Turkey) challenge the EU from within (Hungary) and without (Turkey). Is there a variation in their contestations against EU legitimacy? Which issues do they converge or diverge about? What do their similarities and differences imply for the EU’s policies, external relations as well as European integration? To address these questions, the paper uses a bottom-up approach and brings into the analysis the perspectives of Hungarian and Turkish governing political actors in the context of two relevant EU crises which have arisen in recent years: the rule of law crisis and the refugee crisis.
  • Book Part
    AB'nin Geleceği
    (Orion Kitabevi, 2022) Saatçioğlu, Beken
    Bu bölüm, geçmişten günümüze AB’nin geleceği sorunsalını ele almaktadır. Her ne kadar AB’nin kurumsal yapısı, değer ve amaçları, karar alma süreçleri ve bütünleşme alanları tüm üye devletler tarafından kabul edilmiş olan 2009 Lizbon Antlaşması ile belirlenmiş olsa da, Birlik’in iç yapısı, üye devletler üzerindeki yetkileri, ve güncel sorun ve krizleri çözme kapasitesi son dönemde özellikle sorgulanır hale gelmiştir. AB’nin geleceği konusunun kısa bir tarihçesinin ardından, bölüm, 2010 yılından beri süregelen AB’nin çoklu krizlerinin AB’nin geleceğine ve gelecek tartışmalarına olan etkilerini incelemektedir. Sonuç bölümünde ise, AB’nin içinden geçmekte olduğu sınamaların sonucunda gelecekte nasıl bir yöne doğru evrilebileceği konusu kısaca irdelenmektedir.
  • Book Part
    EU-Turkey Relations: Towards a Transactional Future amid Conflictual Cooperation
    (Nomos, 2021) Saatçioğlu, Beken
    This chapter first summarises and synthesises the findings of the chapters in order to advance an overall scenario for the future of EU-Turkey relations, which is “conflictual cooperation”. It then elaborates on the scenario based on the drivers emanating from the chapters and the recent critical developments weighing on the relations. It concludes by reflecting on the future of the relations in light of their current transactional nature which has been growing since the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis.
  • Book
    Turkey and the European Union: Key Dynamics and Future Scenarios
    (Nomos, 2021) Saatçioğlu, Beken; Tekin, Funda
    This volume studies the enduring complexity of EU–Turkey relations in all their thematic dimensions and with a view to offering future scenarios. It accomplishes three important aims. First, following a narratives analysis, the chapters analysing identity, politics, the economy, security, migration and energy identify the key dynamics that impact the relationship in these areas. Second, they evaluate how these drivers influence the three ideal-type future scenarios of convergence, cooperation and conflict, subsequently offering a relationship scenario for each thematic area. Third, the volume synthesises the chapters’ individual findings and argues that conflictual cooperation is the most likely scenario in future EU–Turkey relations. With contributions by İbrahim Semih Akçomak, Senem Aydın-Düzgit, Lorenzo Colantoni, Angeliki Dimitriadi, Atila Eralp, Erkan Erdil, Doruk Ergun, Hanna Lisa Hauge, Ayhan Kaya, Ebru Ece Özbey, Bahar Rumelili, Beken Saatçioğlu, Eduard Soler i Lecha, Melike Sökmen, Funda Tekin, Sinan Ülgen and Wolfgang Wessels.
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    Comparing Right-Wing Populist Parties’ Stance towards the Global Management of International Migration: Insights from Turkey and Hungary
    (2024) Saatçioğlu, Beken
    How do ruling, right-wing populist parties approach the global management of international migration? This paper addresses this question by analyzing Hungary’s Fidesz and Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the context of the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis. It studies these parties’ discourses regarding the liberal international order (LIO) and the EU, and particularly, the latter’s proposed handling of the crisis. This fills a gap in the literature because ruling right-wing populist parties in middle-power states like Hungary and Turkey are seldom compared and the presence or absence of EU membership may make a difference in their arguments. The paper argues: (1) Fidesz and AKP selectively challenge the LIO and the EU within a populist foreign policy framework pitting “liberal, corrupt, global, EU elites” against the people (Christians for Fidesz, Syrian Muslim refugees for the AKP), (2) They differ because: (a) Fidesz’ challenges heavily focus on the EU while the AKP’s discourse extends to the global system and the UN, (b) Fidesz’ EU contestation revolves around the need to protect “Hungarian sovereignty” and “Christian European culture” from “Brussels elites” while AKP’s rhetoric primarily reflects expectations of satisfactory “transactionalism” from the EU.
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    Empowering Autocrats: The EU’s Migration Partnerships with Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt
    (2025) Saatçioğlu, Beken; Gümüşçü, Şebnem
    This paper studies the EU’s partnerships with Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt to control illegal migration to Europe. The 2016 EU-Turkey refugee deal, the 2023 EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding, and the 2024 EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership exhibit the EU’s policy of externalization of migration to countries of origin and transit in the EU’s neighborhood. The analysis assesses the repercussions of this externalization on the EU’s liberal democratic actorness on the world stage and the deepening autocratization in the Middle East and Turkey. Two preliminary findings are presented. First, the EU prefers transactionalism in the conduct of its foreign policy with the three countries. This is evident in the unconditional nature of these migration agreements and the sidestepping of the European Parliament as a critical actor in the process. Second, this transactionalism supports ongoing autocratization in all three countries by lifting external accountability and providing much-needed resources for these regimes: These autocratic regimes not only find greater leeway to contest the EU’s liberal democratic values (practically and discursively) but also resort to strategies of “refugee rentierism” in disregard for international refugee law. As such, the EU has enabled democratic breakdown in Turkey and Tunisia and autocratic deepening in Egypt.
  • Article
    Turkey and the EU: Partners or Competitors in the Western Balkans?
    (2019) Saatçioğlu, Beken
    The article analyzes EU-Turkey relations in the Western Balkans (WB) in an attempt to uncover the cooperation and conflict potential between the two in the region. Specifically, it assesses the extent to which Turkey can be considered a partner of the EU versus representing acompetitor or even an alternative to Brussels for the WB countries. It argues that positing Turkey as a proactive, alternative regional power seeking to expand its presence and influence in the region at the EU’s expense are overstated.Despite the EU’s damaged credibility in the pursuit of its enlargement policy, Turkey’s capabilities, incentives and foreign policy priorities simply fall short of producing a competitive “Turkish model/alternative” in the region. First, there are practical limits to Turkey’s regional power status, which is far from representing a realistic substitute for the WB countries’ Euro-Atlantic ties. In addition, despite the difficulties ahead, these countries still aspire for integration into European structures, which is also aligned with Turkey’s foreign policy interests. Second, limitations aside, gaining hegemony in the WB is not Ankara’s foreign policy priority given the urgency of multiple policy issues waiting to be tackled on all fronts. Third, from a Realpolitik standpoint, Turkey and the EU are expected to constructively engage to find solutions for common challenges such as migration, which concerns the WB as well.
  • Article
    Water Diplomacy Between Türkiye and Iraq: Pathways, Challenges, and Future Prospects
    (Project Muse, 2025) Kibaroǧlu, Ayşegül
    Systematic analyses of transboundary water relations in the Euphrates-Tigris basin reveal that key riparian states—Türkiye, Syria, and Iraq—favor water diplomacy over conflict. Despite political instability, including the Syrian civil war, Türkiye and Iraq have re-engaged in formal and informal water diplomacy mechanisms. This paper argues that water diplomacy in this region will likely continue to adapt to the evolving dynamics of conflict impacting transboundary water relations. Notably, cooperation on water issues between Türkiye and Iraq is closely linked with their security collaboration, whose success will likely depend on socioeconomic developments that support fair and sustainable water use across the region. The paper further emphasizes the need to prioritize the swift implementation of existing agreements that address future water availability and demand, particularly in the context of climate change.
  • Book Part
    Historical Review of Formal and Informal Water Institutions in the Euphrates-TigrisRegion with a Specific Focus on WaterRelations between Turkey and Iraq
    (World Scientific Publishing Company, 2025) Kibaroğlu, Ayşegül
    This chapter will portray and critically analyze waterinstitutions in the ET basin, be they intangible principles and rules that areadopted in stakeholder practices, or formal or informal organizational structuresthat have been established by the respective states or non-governmental entities.Particular attention will be paid to the current institutional frameworks, such asbilateral high-level political and bureaucratic dialogue between Turkey and Iraqas well as the science-diplomacy and capacity development initiatives that havebeen developed in the midst of the prolonged crisis in the region. The chapter willalso analyze the evolution of national water management institutions, particularlyas they relate to river basin planning and sectoral (i.e., irrigation) water policy andmanagement issues. The analysis of interactions between transboundary andnational water management institutions will be enriched by focusing on the grow-ing role of civil society organizations in war-torn Syria where national and trans-boundary institutions did not have significant weight during the ongoing conflict.
  • Note
    War as the True Adversary and Türkiye’s Pivotal Role in Forging Peace
    (SETA Foundation, 2024) Çağlar, Barış
    The central thesis of this article depends on deterrence theory and posits that nuclear war, rather than any specific nation or faction, constitutes the true adversary in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and that averting nuclear escalation must be prioritized above all else. After establishing the rationale for this position, the commentary offers a critical analysis of both Western and Russian policies, highlighting their role in intensifying the conflict without sufficiently accounting for the risks of nuclear confrontation. As an alternative peaceful path, the article examines the Turkish approach as a concise applied case study, emphasizing its balanced diplomatic and military engagement with both Ukraine and Russia. Through its promotion of dialogue and facilitation of peace negotiations, Türkiye exemplifies a strategic approach to conflict resolution that aims not only to prevent further escalation —especially the threat of nuclear conflict— but also to pave the way toward sustainable peace. © 2024, SETA Foundation. All rights reserved.
  • Article
    Towards Water Regionalism? Examining the Linkages Between Water, Infrastructures, and Regionalism in Turkey
    (Routledge, 2024) Sayan, R.C.; Bilgen, A.; Kibaroğlu, A.
    Moving beyond the purely material understanding of infrastructures, new perspectives in infrastructural regionalism assert that infrastructures and regions simultaneously shape each other. Drawing on this reciprocal relationship, we introduce the concept of ‘water regionalism’ to examine how regional factors, dynamics, and complexities shape water infrastructures, and how water infrastructures concurrently shape regions. Through qualitative research methodologies, we empirically demonstrate how this concept operates in practice by examining the history of regional planning and hydraulic infrastructure development in Turkey, particularly the process of how the South-eastern Anatolia Project (GAP) and the GAP region have shaped each other since the 1970s. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
  • Conference Object
    Türkiye’nin Bir Kamu Diplomasisi Aracı Olarak Dijital Diplomasi Uygulamaları: Fırsatlar ve Zorluklar
    (Siyasi İlimler Türk Derneği, 2024) Cansu, Güleç
    Küreselleşen dünyanın karmaşık ve birbirine bağlı yapısı içinde diplomasi ve dış politikanın da çok daha fazla konuyu, aktörü ve sorunu kapsadığı görülmektedir. 21. yüzyılla beraber dijital diplomasi, kamu diplomasisinin önemli bir parçası haline gelmiştir. İnternet teknolojilerinin kamu diplomasisi amacıyla kullanılması, politika yapıcıların da dikkatini giderek daha fazla çekmektedir. Dijital teknolojilerinin gelişmesi network oluşturma, iş birliği yapma, iletişim kurma ve benzer ihtiyaç ve arzulara sahip neredeyse sınırsız sayıda insanla bağlantı kurma konusunda çeşitli fırsatlar sunmaktadır. Dijital Diplomasi, bir ülkenin dış politika hedeflerine ulaşmak ve kamu diplomasisini uygulamak için Bilgi ve İletişim Teknolojilerinin ve sosyal medya platformlarının giderek daha fazla kullanılmasını içermektedir. Artık bir elçilik ve Dışişleri Bakanlığı, Twitter hesabı aracılığıyla takipçileriyle çift yönlü iletişim kurabilmekte, diplomatlar ve siyasetçiler yalnızca televizyon aracılığıyla izleyicilere konuşmak yerine yabancı halkların sosyal medya profillerindeki gönderilere yanıt vererek sohbet edebilmektedir. Artan çift yönlü iletişim, yabancı halklarla etkileşim için daha fazla fırsat sunmakta; bu türden bir katılım kitleler arasındaki ilişkilerin güçlenmesini de kolaylaştırabilmektedir. Özellikle COVID-19 salgınının ortaya çıkmasıyla birlikte başta devletler olmak üzere tüm uluslararası aktörler, dijital teknolojilerin diplomasinin bir unsuru olarak kullanımın öneminin giderek daha fazla farkına varmaya başlamıştır. Dijital diplomasi artık Uluslararası İlişkilerin yönetiminin bir parçası olsa da ortaya çıkan bilgi savaşı medya sistemlerinin sömürülmesi veya bir silah haline getirilmesini de beraberinde getirmektedir. Dijital diplomasinin sunduğu fırsat ve kolaylıklar propaganda, dezenformasyon, sahte bilgi ve haberler gibi yöntemlerle test edilmektedir. Dijital teknolojilerin bu tekniklerle toplumlara giderek daha fazla yol açtığı tehditlerin doğasının ve kapsamının daha iyi anlaşılması da bir gereklilik haline gelmektedir. Tüm bu hususlar dahilinde, bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye’nin dijital diplomasi faaliyetlerini bir yumuşak güç ve kamu diplomasisi unsuru olarak nasıl kullandığını analiz etmektir. Bu bağlamda dijital diplomasi kavramı açıklandıktan sonra Türkiye’nin dijital diplomasi faaliyetleri ilgili örneklerle analiz edilecektir. Daha sonra, COVID-19’un Ankara’nın dijital diplomasi stratejisi üzerindeki etkisi ve özellikle dezenformasyona karşı mücadele politikaları, zorluklar ve sınırlamalarla birlikte tartışılacaktır.
  • Article
    Nato’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy and Interoperability Challenges: the Case of Turkey
    (Routledge, 2024) Gormus, E.
    The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly changed military applications, creating new competitive advantages and shifting the global balance of power. This article examines NATO’s AI strategy and the associated interoperability challenges, with a particular focus on Turkey. NATO’s AI strategy seeks to enhance interoperability among its member states by fostering the integration of AI technologies into military capabilities. However, achieving this goal is complicated by the varying levels of AI technological advancement, divergent national AI-military strategies and differing geopolitical considerations among member countries. Using Turkey as a case study, this paper explores how the rapid development of AI-based military drones contributes to Turkey’s strategic autonomy and enhances regime resilience while also highlighting certain interoperability considerations within NATO. The analysis underlines the need for a cohesive approach to AI integration that addresses these disparities to maintain NATO’s collective defence capabilities. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
  • Book Part
    Citation - Scopus: 1
    The Evolution of Water Diplomacy Frameworks: The Euphrates-Tigris Basin as a Case Study
    (Springer, 2024) Kibaroğlu, Ayşegül
    Water diplomacy encompasses the processes and institutions through which the national interests and identities of sovereign states are represented to one another. It is enshrined in international law, which states use to explain and justify their policies to concerned actors in the international system. States mostly prefer traditional tools of water diplomacy such as negotiation and mediation to resolve disputes in transboundary river basins. This chapter explores water diplomacy along with its main principles and actors. On the one hand, the state has been the main actor in shaping transboundary water policies and conducting water diplomacy throughout the last few decades of water disputes. On the other hand, international organizations, international financial agencies, non-governmental organizations, and science-policy (Track II) initiatives also participate in water diplomacy. A brief discussion of emerging water diplomacy approaches is followed by a case study on the evolution of water diplomacy frameworks in the Euphrates-Tigris river basin.
  • Article
    Türkiye Sulama Yönetimi Politikaları ve Sulama Birlikleri
    (..., 2022) Kibaroğlu, Ayşegül
    Kalkınmakta olan ülkelerde 1990’lı yıllardan buyana sulamada idari, mali ve teknik açıdan verimlilik ve hakkaniyet sağlamak amacıyla geniş sulama alanlarından sorumlu olan çok sayıda su kullanıcı örgütleri (Sulama Birliği) kurulmuştur. Sulama sistemlerinin yönetiminin 1990’lı yılların başında hızlı bir biçimde Sulama Birliklerine devir edilmesiyle, Türkiye sulama suyu yönetimi konusunda önemli deneyimler geçirmiştir. Türkiye’nin bu alandaki deneyimleri, sulama yönetiminde reformların verimlilik ve hakkaniyet açısından başarılı olabilmesi için sulamadaki tüm paydaşlar arasında katılımcılık ve oydaşmanın sağlanmasının önemini ortaya koymuştur.
  • Conference Object
    Birey Düzeyi Çerçevesinden Dış Politikayı Yorumlamak: Türk Dış Politikası’nda Turgut Özal Faktörü
    (Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi, 2023) Güleç Aras, Cansu
    Bu çalışmanın amacı Dış Politika Analizinde birey düzeyi çerçevesinden, Türk siyasi hayatının önemli figürlerinden Turgut Özal’ın dış politika anlayışının Türk Dış Politikasına olan etkisini ortaya koymaktır. Dış Politika Analizinde liderlere ve karar vericilere odaklanan birey düzeyi, liderlerin dünyayı algılama şekilleri, liderlik özellikleri, kişiliği, inançları, dürtüleri, kişisel değerleri gibi faktörleri ön plana çıkartmaktadır. Dış politikanın bireyler tarafından şekillendirildiğini varsayan birey düzeyindeki analizlere göre, dış politika kararları bireylerin ve liderlerin tercihleridir. Diğer tarafından, liderler dış politika kararlarını tek başlarına vermemekte, bürokratik kurumlar, danışmanlar gibi diğer karar vericiler ile etkileşim halinde bulunarak almaktadır. Bu durumda birey düzeyinde karar vericilerin ortaklaşa dünyayı algılamaları, sorunları tanımlamaları ve seçenekleri değerlendirmeleri gibi etkileşimleri de göz önünde bulundurulmaktadır.
  • Conference Object
    Why “discourse” Matters in the Discipline of International Relations: a Conceptual Analysis
    (KTÜ Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü ve Stratejik Araştırma Merkezi, 2023) Güleç Aras, Cansu
    The purpose of this paper is to examine how discourse is conceptualized and utilized in the discipline of International Relations. The discourses we use to understand and influence each other are used in interdisciplinary approaches in social sciences. Discourse, which is used in the meanings such as “rhetoric, speech, thesis, point of view, doctrine, argument, opinion, philosophy, type of expression, style of expression, style, pronunciation, individual language, conceptual system, sum of signs” is defined in various ways terminologically. Disciplines such as linguistics, philosophy of language, anthropology, ethnology, sociology, psychology, and political science have presented different explanations and methods about discourse. Discourse, in general terms, is interpreted as representational practices in which meanings are produced. In this sense, the idea that knowledge is separate from the social sphere is rejected, and knowledge is accepted as the founding element of reality. In fact, there are various definitions of discourse that differ from eachother.As a research method, discourse analysis, which refers the meanings formed through speeches and texts, is applied in different disciplines for extensive examination. In discourse analysis, the discourses to be explored can be written texts or they can be accepted as verbal conversations. These discourses, which might be both written and verbal, should possibly be examined in their original forms. Furthermore, in discourse analysis, the place and time of the discourse, the communication between the parties of the discourse, social roles, relevant social information, norms and values, institutional structures and organizational processes are also important. As a matter of fact, individuals who use the language are always in contact with eachother in their communication activities they establish as a part of groups, institutions, or cultures. In discourse analysis, which is most frequently used as a post-structural method in the discipline of International Relations, social reality is not considered independent of language and is created only through representative practices in language. Thus, in post-structural analysis, it is believed that the construction of different social realities is possible only through interpretation. The discourse that takes place in a certain political context and political culture often raises questions about a nation’s own identity within the discipline of International Relations.
  • Conference Object
    Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi’nin Bölgesel Çatışmalarda Ürettiği Söylemler: Güney Osetya Savaşı (2008) ve Gazze Savaşı’nın (2008) Karşılaştırmalı Bir Analizi
    (Siyasi İlimler Türk Derneği, 2023) Güleç, Cansu
    Bu çalışmanın amacı Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) dönemi dış politikasının söylemler üzerinden nasıl inşa edildiğini temel alan kavramsal çerçeveden hareketle, AKP yönetici elitinin Türk dış politikasında ortak tarihi ve kültürel referanslar üzerinden ürettikleri “düzen kurucu” ve “sorun çözücü” söylemin 2008 yılındaki “Rusya-Gürcistan Savaşı” ile 2008’de “İsrail’in Gazze Şeridi’ne düzenlediği Dökme Kurşun Operasyonu” örnek olayları çerçevesinde nasıl kurulduğunu ortaya koymaktır. Araştırma konusu olarak belirtilen iki ayrı bölgesel çatışmanın seçilmesinin nedeni, aynı dönemlerde birkaç ay arayla ancak birbirlerinden farklı bölgesel coğrafyalarda yaşanan krizlere karşı Türkiye’nin söz konusu söylemlerinin işlerliğinin nasıl yansıtıldığını anlamaya çalışmaktır. Çalışmanın teorik çerçevesini sosyal olgu olarak tanımladıkları dış politikayı dilsel analizler üzerinden inceleyip anlayan Post-Yapısalcılık oluşturmaktadır.3 Kasım 2002 seçimlerinin ardından iktidara gelen Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi’nin izlediği dış politika ile ilgili olarak akademik yazında gerek içerik gerek yöntemsel açıdan farklı perspektiflerle pek çok çalışma yapılmıştır. 2000’lerle birlikte Türkiye, özellikle Davutoğlu terminolojisiyle ifadesini bulan, kendisini “farklı bölgesel kimliklerin ortasında bir ‘merkez ülke’ olarak, güvenlik kaygılarının ötesine geçen, gelişmelere tepki vermekle yetinmeyen, aksine onları yönlendiren aktif bir dış politika izlemesi gereken bir aktör” olarak konumlandırmıştır. 2007 yılından itibaren, Avrupa Birliği (AB) ile ilişkilerin ilerlemesi yolunda yaşanan sıkıntılarla beraber, dış politikada Türkiye’nin Ortadoğu’ya daha fazla ağırlık vermesiyle “eksen kayması” kavramı doğrultusunda şekillenen pek çok tartışma ortaya konulmuştur.