Turkey's Growing Relations with Iran and Arab Middle East

Russia, Turkey, and Iran: Moving Towards Strategic Synergy in the Middle East?

“…Simultaneously, however, as one scholar puts it, Turkey appears to be cleaving to a 'new multi-dimensional political strategy' aimed at staving off regional conflict and establishing 'relations of interdependency by using political, social and economic challenges, especially through private enterprises and the oil and natural gas pipeline network'. 51 Echoing similar points, Kemal Kirişci argues that a process of 'desecuritisation' has been afoot as Turkey recalibrates its foreign policies towards its neighbourhood; one that puts a high premium on the 'movement of people, civil society and economic interactions' for the ultimate purpose of instantiating a 'democratic peace' in the Middle East. 52 Following these premises, the assertion, therefore, is that if all the above-mentioned factors could be construed as clear signs of the Turkish quest for an independent foreign policy towards the Middle East-also known as 'Zero Problems, Phase II', aimed at 'minimising conflicts and seeking accommodation wherever possible with neighbors' 53 -it is no small wonder that Ankara-Tehran relations under the AKP government flourished in various areas, even in the heat of international sanctions and despite the diverging positions between the two countries on the Syrian dilemma.…”

Economic, Political, and Strategic Issues in Iran–Turkey Relations, 2002–2015

“…Sena Karasipahi (2009) investigates mainly on the Islamic resurgence movements in Iran from 1950s to 1979 and in Turkey from the 1950s to the present and compares the Islamization movements in both countries. In the fourth period, regional crises included the Islamic Revolution led by Imam Khomeini (1979) followed by the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) (Ehteshami & Elik, 2011, pp. 647–650).…”

How to read U.S.-Turkish relations: An analysis of scholar literature

“…Etešami i Elik tumače tursko približavanje Iranu i arapskom svetu kroz realističku kategoriju meke moći. 79 Ipak, autori ukazuju na činjenicu da zavisnost turske odbrambene strategije od njenih dobrih veza sa SAD-om i od NATO okvira u koji je integrisana, umanjuje turske šanse za veću kapitalizaciju moći u islamskim zemljama. Kod Janike, slično Sadikovom radu, ne možemo govoriti o teorijskoj opredeljenosti (tema njenog istraživanja je izborna kampanja u Turskoj 2011), ali kako iz njega saznajemo dosta o realističkim koncepcijama u izbornoj "spoljnopolitičkoj" kampanji AKP i ovaj rad (iako to nije najsrećnije rešenje) možemo označiti kao realistički.…”