Ideologies and the Western Question in Turkish Foreign Policy: A Neo-classical Realist Perspective

Abstract

Growing anti-Western sentiments around the world are currently
 manifesting themselves through divergent ways ranging from peaceful resistance movements
 to various forms of political violence. In the Middle East, unlike the earlier
 partially secular and nationalist Cold War anti-Americanism, the current popular
 anti-Western political movements are heavily equipped with Islamism, which
 appears to be an all-inclusive ideology and political movement for almost all
 dissidents. This applies to Turkey as well, despite its relatively long history
 of secularisation. This research particularly aims therefore to discuss the
 role of nationalism and Islamism on anti-Western sentiments in Turkish foreign
 policy through the lens of neo-classical realism and a new, broader conceptual framework:
 The Western Question. The research examines the contours, contents, and
 consequences of the problem through comparing two cases, namely the Cyprus problem
 of the 1970s and the crisis with the West that has surfaced after Turkey’s
 involvement in the Syrian Civil War.