The Syrian Crisis and Its Contribution to Authoritarian Transformation of Turkish Domestic and Foreign Policy Identities
Résumé
Soon to be a century old, the Republic of Turkey has faced several major crises in its regional environment; however, none of them has affected it to the same extent as the Syrian conflict, which still continues to be the major concern for the current political power. Indeed, as a country close and similar to Turkey in many respects, Syria, via its crisis, has had a transformative effect on Turkey, that changes its identity, its ethnic and religious composition and, of course, its foreign policy, and even its place in the international order. The main objective of this chapter is to demonstrate that it is through the Syrian crisis that Turkey is marking a real break with its traditional geopolitical family, i.e., the Western camp, to move closer to a Russia that is historically anything but Turkey’s friend.