The Impact of Culture in Shaping Turkish Foreign Policy, Murat Bayar, Lecturer in International Relations, Istanbul Arel University

When

2 p.m., Jan. 19, 2018

Culture as one of the main characters of Turkish Foreign Policy has emerged as irrational in shaping the behavior of decision-makers. In the study, culture and its reflection in the behavior of decision-makers have been investigated based on the concepts like ethnic culture, religious culture, historical heritage and universality. These four dimensions which play a role in the shaping of foreign policy behavior can be seen in the ruling AK Party's understanding of civilization and of Turkish culture. This situation appears to have emerged in Turkish foreign policy in the form of discourses on the politics of Northern Iraq and Syrian Issue. In the study, the discourse of Turkish foreign policy produced by decision makers on Turkey’s Northern Iraq politics and Syrian politics are analyzed. Northern Iraq Politics between 2005-2007, Syrian Politics between 2011-2012  were examined with the method of discourse analysis. The main purpose of selecting these dates for Northern Iraq was to examine culture in these periods, with the year 2005 as the tension between Turkish foreign policy and Northern Iraq, the year 2006 as a transition period, and the year 2007 and beyond as reconciliation period. The importance of the selection of the dates related to Syria was the deterioration of relations between Turkey and Syria. Finally, the study examines the influence of culture as a sociological factor in decision making process in Turkish Foreign Policy with regard to Northern Iraq and Syria.