Harmonizing Foreign Policy Turkey, the EU and the Middle East

The change in Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East in the post-Cold War era is a highly debated issue, with most experts believing that Europeanization has become the driving force behind this change. This book takes the cases of Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as two important illustrations. Both cases present dynamic issues of conflict in the region and are high on Turkey's agenda in terms of its policies towards the region. Focusing on issues related to EU integration, the study examines the formation of a common foreign policy in general and a common policy towards the Middle East in particular. It also investigates decision making in Turkish foreign policy and foreign policy towards the Middle East before and after EU candidature. As such it provides valuable insights into how parties interact with each other and the way in which foreign policies can be harmonized.

Contents: Preface; Introduction; Theories of integration; Europeanization of the foreign policy; European integration and the CFSP; The Middle East policy of the European Union; The making of Turkish foreign policy; Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East until the end of the Cold War; Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East since the Cold War era; The Europeanization of Turkish foreign policy; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Dr Mesut Özcan is based at the Istanbul Commerce University, Turkey.