FROM SYRIA TO UKRAINE: TÜRKİYE’S SEARCH FOR AUTONOMOUS FOREIGN POLICY DURING THE AK PARTY ERA
Journal: Anadolu Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi
Year: 2026

Türkiye’s foreign policy has experienced a significant transformation during the AK Party era, and evolved from a soft power-oriented and Western-aligned approach into a more assertive and autonomy-seeking posture. While close cooperation with Western actors, particularly the U.S. and the EU, played a decisive role in shaping Turkish foreign policy in the early 2000s, the subsequent period has witnessed strategic shifts such as diversification of regional and global partnerships and increasing a