A Political Economy of Historical Change and Continuity in Turkish Foreign Policy

This study aims to analyse historical continuity and change in Turkish foreign policy (TFP) within the framework of Critical Theory as elucidated by Robert Cox. It suggests asking how TFP has been affected by the historical changes in relations of production and world orders. Within this framework, it aims to explain the changes in TFP within the relation between the production, the world order and the form of state. It analyses TFP in three historical periods such as the Interwar Years, Cold War and post-Cold War. It exposes that Turkish state (re)formation and foreign policy making has succumbed to the global capitalist relations of production and corresponding world orders. These two have been the major framework(s) of change and continuity in Turkiye's 100 years-old foreign policy. Its main argument is that the continuity and change in TFP has shown an interplay of relations between production and world order. It concludes that TFP has been in line with the global relations of production so there has been a clear and substantial continuity; and that the arguable changes have been the repercussions of global relations of production and world orders.

Automated summary

This study aims to analyze the historical continuity and change in Turkish foreign policy using Critical Theory as a framework. It suggests that these changes in Turkish foreign policy have been influenced by historical changes in production relations and world orders. The study finds that the formation and making of Turkish foreign policy have been influenced by global capitalist relations of production and the corresponding world orders, which have been the major framework for change and continuity in the country's foreign policy over the past 100 years. The main argument is that the continuity and change in Turkish foreign policy have been shaped by the interplay of production and world order.