Turkey's foreign policy towards Syria from 2002 to 2014 and explanation of the components affecting it

Turkey's foreign policy towards Syria has experienced significant ups and downs over the past decade. The development of relations between the two countries in the political, economic, cultural and security fields began in the early decade of the 21st century, in 2002, and peaked between 2008 and mid-2011. With the beginning of the developments and the beginning of the protests in Syria in mid-2011, the approach of the leaders of the Justice and Development Party to this country changed and the relations between the two countries progressed to the stage of military confrontation. The present study seeks to explain why and how this change in the foreign policy of the Turkish Justice and Development Party towards Syria. The hypothesis processed in the framework of constructivist theory in this research is formulated in such a way that the basic components of the neo-Ottomanism discourse, ie, "zero problems with neighbors" on the one hand, and the attempt to present a picture of Turkey on the other. As a "model of democracy, freedom and human rights", on the other hand, it has paved the way for radical changes in Turkey's foreign policy towards Syria. The premise of the research is that the elements and minutes of neo-Ottoman discourse in Turkish foreign policy are in a contradictory and paradoxical situation. The findings of the study indicate that Turkey's cooperative approach to Syria is within the framework of the requirements of the most important component of the neo-Ottomanist discourse, which is to reduce Turkey's problems with its neighbors to zero. Syria is the gateway to the Arab-Islamic countries in the Middle East, with the expansion of relations with them paving the way for the restoration of cultural and political influence and access to the great Arab economic market for Turkey. In contrast, the second fundamental component of the neo-Ottoman discourse is the attempt to present Turkey as a model for democracy, freedom, and human rights in the eyes of public opinion, the Middle East political elite, and to appease Western pro-Syrian opposition forces. Provides divergence in Turkey's relations with Syria.