New Turkish Government and Foreign Policy

June 2011’s national election in Turkey reinforced the party system in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Prime Minister Erdoğan’s decision to continue with the same foreign minister and EU minister signaled continuity, leaving little reason to expect a significant change in foreign policy. However, the Turkish media had started to imply a probable shift in Turkish foreign policy and rapprochement between Turkey and Israel. This brief elaborates on the driving factors of the transformation of Turkish foreign policy. Within this framework, the author also looks at what has been happening in the Turkish-Middle Eastern relations in general and the Turkish-Israeli relationship in particular and concludes that there are no clear indications of a fundamental change in the nature of Turkey-Israel relations in the near future.

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