The stillborn neo-Ottomanist foreign policy aspiration of the Özal era

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2020

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Soysal, Coşkun

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Turkish foreign policy makers have at times become tempted by aspirations of regional leadership. The political leadership of Turgut Özal, first as prime minister from 1983 to 1989 and later as president from 1989 until his death in 1993, is crucial in this sense, as the “neo-Ottomanist” foreign policy aspiration became a much-contested issue during the period of his rule. This thesis, therefore, seeks to examine how and in what circumstances this aspiration flourished under Özal. This thesis argues that the domestic neoliberal restructuring that took place throughout the 1980s is a key factor that formed the basis on which neo-Ottomanism could be proposed in a way that could be considered a subimperialist hegemonic project in the early 1990s. The transformation in the international order that took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s is another key factor thought to have opened up space for aspirant regional powers. However, the neo-Ottomanist foreign policy aspiration of the Özal leadership failed due to the constraints placed upon regional aspirants such as Turkey by the very hierarchical nature of the international order as well as material incapacity on the part of Turkey. This thesis analyses how this aspiration came about, its rise to prominence and ultimate decline under the political leadership of Özal by looking into his foreign policy practices towards the Balkans, Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus from a neo-Gramscian approach.

Subject Keywords

Neoliberalism., Turkish Foreign Policy, Neo-Ottomanism, Turgut Özal, Subimperialism, Regional Leadership

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http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12625027/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/45188

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Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

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Citation Formats

C. Soysal, “The stillborn neo-Ottomanist foreign policy aspiration of the Özal era,” Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Graduate School of Social Sciences. International Relations., Middle East Technical University, 2020.