Understanding Turkeys Foreign Policy Through Strategic Depth

Joshua W. Walker
Post doctoral Fellow
Transatlantic Academy
The recent activism of Turkish foreign policy under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has caused political waves
throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the broader region. Serious analysis of Turkeys foreign
policy has focused for some time on Professor Ahmet Davutolu, chief foreign policy advisor to
Prime Minister since 2002 and Foreign Minister since May of 2009. The enormous respect and
deference paid to Prof. Davutolu within the AKP has made him THE most important architect
of Turkeys foreign policy agenda and strategy since his rise to influence. As a former professor
of International Relations the views and ideas underlying his conception of the world and
Turkeys place in it have been well-known to those who read his work in Turkish but rarely
examined outside this small circle given the lack of an English translation for his seminal 2001
book Strategik Derinlik, Turkiyenin Uluslararasi Konumu (Strategic Depth, Turkeys
International Position) on which a large portion of Turkeys current foreign policy agenda can be
interpreted.
Davutolus Strategic Depth argues that a nations value in world politics is predicated on its
geo-strategic location and historical depth. Following the logic of Davutolus proclaimed
theory, Turkey is uniquely endowed both because of its location in geopolitical areas of
influence, particularly its control of the Bosporus, and its historical legacy as heir to the Ottoman
Empire.1 While traditional measures of Turkeys national power tend to overlook the cultural
links fostered by a shared common history, Davutolu emphasizes Turkeys connections to
the Balkans, the Middle East, and even Central Asia. In the same vein, Davutolu argues that
Turkey is the natural heir to the Ottoman Empire that once unified the Muslim world and
therefore has the potential to become a Muslim super power. Accordingly, Turkey is not
simply an ordinary nation-state that emerged at a certain point due to the play of circumstances
or the designs of the outside powers like, for example, many new states in Central Europe in
the aftermath of the First World War. By contrast, Turkey is a regional power in its own right,
having strong traditions of statehood and broad strategic outreach. Thus, Davutolu concludes,
it has no chance to be peripheral, it is not a sideline country of the EU, NATO or Asia. 2

See Ahmet Davutoglu (unfortunately there is no English translation available at this time) Strategik Derinlik,
Turkiyenin Uluslararasi Konumu (Strategic Depth, Turkeys International Position) Istanbul: Kure Yayinlari, 2001.
2
Ahmet Davutoglu, Stratejik Derinlik , see also his article The Clash of Interests: An Explanation of the World
(Dis)Order, Perceptions 2:4 (December 1997-February 1998).

Rather than being peripheral, Davutolu and the AKP foreign policy agenda contends that
Turkey is a centrally positioned international player. For them, Turkey is a country with a
close land basin, the epicenter of the Balkans, the Middle East and the Caucasus, the center of
Eurasia in general and is in the middle of the Rimland belt cutting across the Mediterranean to
the Pacific. [Emphasis add]3 Such geo-strategic vision reflects the newly-acquired selfconfidence on the part of the AKP who are supportive of a more proactive foreign policy
particularly in what they call the Ottoman geopolitical space and highly critical of Turkeys
Cold War strategy for its myopic reluctance to embrace the countrys obvious advantages
namely, its rich history and geographical location.
Beyond the academic discussions surrounding Turkeys potential and place in the world,
strategic depth as applied to Davutolus emerging foreign policy agenda seeks to
counterbalance Turkeys dependencies on the West by courting multiple alliances to
maintain the balance of power in its region. The premise of this agenda is that Turkey should
not be dependent upon any one actor and should actively seek ways to balance its relationships
and alliances so that it can maintain optimal independence and leverage on the global and
regional stage. This new reading of Turkeys history differs markedly from the traditional
republican narrative that sought to sever all ties with the pre-Republican past and reject all things
Ottoman. The appeal of this interpretation has allowed Davutolu to work with many nationalists
and ardent secularists within the Turkish state who actively seek to embrace both Turkeys
Ottoman past and former geopolitical space. In fact, they champion a deliberate revival of the
Ottoman past, both as a matter of cultural enrichment, but also as a source of an enriched
Turkish identity as a political actor.4 In this sense, the proposed strategic outlook is not merely
national but regional, and it shifts Turkeys self-perception as being on the periphery to the
understanding that the country is in the very center of important historical developments.
Policy Implications of Strategic Depth
1. Refocusing Turkeys Historic Alliances
a. Traditional allies like the United States and Europe are important, but new
emphasis needs to be paid to former estranged neighbors such as Russia and Iran.
b. New alliances with emerging powers like the Chinese and India help to balance
Turkeys dependency on the West.
2. Greater Identification with Turkeys former Ottoman Space
a. Renewed interest in engaging Muslim former colonies that might welcome
Turkeys return to the Middle East with particular focus on Syria and Iraq.
3

Alexander Murinson, The Strategic Depth Doctrine of Turkish Foreign Policy, Middle
Eastern Studies 42:6 (November 2006).
4
Richard Falk, Reconsidering Turkey, Zaman, October 6, 2004.

b. Taking on greater responsibility for regional stability in the Balkans through

working with new allies such as Serbia and Russia in addition to its NATO
obligations.
c. Resolving of historic differences with Armenia to enhance greater cooperation
throughout the Caucus given Turkeys central role.
3. Reaching Beyond the Ottomans
a. Emphasizing Turkeys role in the Muslim world and historic relations with
Afghanistan and Pakistan while building stronger connections with places as far
away as Malaysia (Davutolu has a personal affinity given his tenure as a visiting
professor here) and Indonesia.
b. Engaging Central Asia and offering an economic model of development through
Turkish businesses, construction, education, and NGOs.