Domestic threats and foreign policy agenda: a security perspective on Turkey's Iran policy

Starting from the Islamic Revolution, Iran's regime had increasingly been presented as the external source of Islamic fundamentalist movements in Turkey, leading to the establishment of a security-driven atmosphere in bilateral relations. However, Turkish-Iranian relations witnessed a positive...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBritish journal of Middle Eastern studies Vol. 47; no. 5; pp. 723 - 740
Main Author Luleci-Sula, Cagla
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Exeter Routledge 19.10.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Domestic politics
Foreign policy
International relations
Islam
Political elites
Politics
Public opinion
Rapprochement
Religious fundamentalism
Securitization
Security
Speeches
Verbal aggression
Iran
Turkey
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Summary:Starting from the Islamic Revolution, Iran's regime had increasingly been presented as the external source of Islamic fundamentalist movements in Turkey, leading to the establishment of a security-driven atmosphere in bilateral relations. However, Turkish-Iranian relations witnessed a positive change in the 2000s. The impact of the security discourse of Turkish elites regarding Iran's Islamic regime declined and a rapprochement process began. This research suggests that such shift in Turkey's foreign policy agenda became possible with the desecuritization of Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey's domestic politics. The article proposes a securitization framework to analyse the link between domestic politics and foreign policy. Accordingly, it asks 'How did the desecuritization of Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey's domestic politics influence its foreign policy towards Iran?' It analyses Turkey's Iran policy comparatively in the 1990s and 2000s by utilizing speeches of Turkey's political elites, public opinion in Turkey, changing the domestic political structure and alterations in foreign policy practices of Turkey towards Iran.
ISSN:1353-0194
1469-3542
DOI:10.1080/13530194.2018.1549980