Turkish Foreign Policy Towards the Syrian Crisis: Dynamics of Transformation

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the unrest in Syria in January 2011, Turkey has been one of the principal international actors involved in the Syrian issue and has gradually become an important party in the Syrian geopolitical game. After eight years, with the continuous evolution of the Syrian issue, Turkey, under the guidance of its strategic thinking of ‘Strategic Deepness’, used a combination of diplomatic and military strikes to make itself an important regional power in the rivalry over Syria. Turkey could no longer be underestimated in the process of mitigating or complicating the issue, and meanwhile has also become a major factor affecting the political map of Syria. On the Syrian issue, Turkey made major adjustments to its foreign policy. Based on its understanding and judgment of Syria’s geopolitics, the Middle East sectarian pattern and the Kurdish issue, it established a clear strategic intention that is consistent with the position of the Western allies of forcing Bashar al-Assad’s regime to step down, while curbing and disintegrating the Kurdish forces, and ultimately achieving the strategic goal of enhancing the regional influence and international image of Turkey. Around this strategic intention, Turkey’s policy towards Syria has also been dynamically adjusted, throwing out a minnow to catch a whale, and the established goals have been achieved. In the future, Turkey will use the current situation as a basis to play its role in the Syrian issue and maximise its national interests.