Abstract

The article argues that Turkey's perception of the West has been heavily influenced by its idealized identity. After evaluating the circumstances under which this idealized identity began to weaken, it shows how the images of the US and Europe have started to get compartmentalized and Israel separated from the image of the West. The article explains the relationship between the continuing process redefining Turkey's “personal identity” and its growing interest in the Middle East. The transformation process that Turkey is passing through is critically important in understanding the way in which Turkey has been affected by the upheavals and is reacting to the new developments in the region. In this vein the article highlights the interaction between power considerations and aspirations to re-define identity at home and abroad.

Highlights

  • From Defensive Westernization to Identity BuildingIn Turkish political life the idea of Westernization is directly linked with the modernization process.[5]

  • The article argues that Turkey’s perception of the West has been heavily influenced by its idealized identity

  • In the sense of “social identity” state identity refers to social categories that states are members of the Arab League, EU or NATO

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Summary

From Defensive Westernization to Identity Building

In Turkish political life the idea of Westernization is directly linked with the modernization process.[5]. According to that perception Turkey’s territorial integrity and its secular regime were under threats coming from the Middle East, a region that was often described with words like “bog,” “deadlock” and “trap.” In the most simplistic form of this imagination the Middle East was regarded as a “desert” and Turkey was viewed as “an oasis in this desert.”. In this vein most members of the elite were not considering Turkey as a part of the Middle East, which was described as a “backward, underdeveloped area”[15] and a “conflict zone”[16] as opposed to “modernized West” and “developing Turkey.”. As Ekşi explains the rebellion was initially taken as a product of an uprising against poverty and desperation as well as being interpreted as a British provocation.[19]

Identity and Foreign Policy Orientation
The Process of Identity Change at Home
The Libyan Crisis
The Syrian Crisis
Major Challenges
Findings
Conclusion
Full Text
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