City Research Online

Abstract

moves toward multipolarity. Turkey has also attempted to carve out a more autonomous space from its traditional Western allies by building new ties in the non-Western world, ranging from the Russia–China axis to the Middle East and beyond. This paper explores the idea and practice of strategic autonomy in Turkish foreign policy. We argue that strategic autonomy is not predetermined or mechanically driven by ‘hedging’ behavior. We conceptualize strategic autonomy with reference to its three fundamental dimensions: structural orientation, political motive, and economic infrastructure. In this context, we highlight two soft spots in Turkish foreign policy since 2011. First, geopolitical imperatives and domestic political priorities often contradict each other, which prevents the country from effectively implementing autonomy-seeking policies. Second, strategic autonomy is mainly associated with ‘high politics’ without paying proper attention to its geo-economic dimension in the form of solid political economy fundamentals and economic infrastructure.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The version of record of this article, first published in International Politics, is available online at Publisher’s website: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal/41311
Publisher Keywords:	strategic autonomy, multipolarity, Turkish foreign policy, geopolitics, economic security
Subjects:	J Political Science J Political Science > JQ Political institutions Asia J Political Science > JX International law
Departments:	School of Policy & Global Affairs School of Policy & Global Affairs > International Politics
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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