The Restructuring of Turkey’s Policy towards Cyprus: The Justice and Development Party’s Struggle for Power

Abstract: This study aims to analyze the significance of the 'Cyprus question' in Turkish politics in terms of the interplay between international political developments and the domestic political situation and among domestic political actors. The main focus of the study is the restructuring of Turkey's policy towards Cyprus with the establishment of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. In order to analyze this restructuring process, the study deals with international factors such as the improvement of Turkey's image in the international arena, Turkey's EU membership process, and past foreign policy choices of Turkey, as well as with the impact of changing domestic political alignments and the power struggle among the Turkish political elite, with a special focus on the latter. The main conclusion drawn from the analysis is the fact that the restructuring of Turkey's policy towards Cyprus was not only a matter of foreign policy but was also a means for the AKP to strengthen its domestic position vis-à-vis the other major political actors in Turkey.