Turkish Foreign Policy: Challenges to Turkey’s Western Calling

In recent years Turkey made foreign policy choices that had been at odds with the preferences of some of its major partners, such as the United States, the EU, and Israel, and it had begun to pursue a more activist and proactive foreign policy atypical from earlier times. Overall examination of policies showed that economic considerations, as well as living at peace with neighbors, were more powerful determinants of the change than Islam. The question — as the country had redefined its role as a regional power and an important world actor and it had begun to question the current world governance — was whether such policies would redefine Turkey’s role within the Western community or whether it will result in a gradual breaking away.