
The Militarization of Turkish Foreign Policy?
Revisiting the Contours of Hard Power
Saban Kardas(Editor)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 8. June 2026
Book
Hardback
170 pages
978-1-041-30235-3 (ISBN)
Description
This book critically examines Turkey's shift towards a more coercive and hard power-driven foreign policy over the past decade. It explores how Ankara's assertive orientation has reshaped its regional policies, with militarized international disputes and the pursuit of strategic autonomy becoming defining features. The contributors delve into the theoretical underpinnings of this transformation while offering empirically grounded analyses of its practical manifestations. Key areas of focus include the evolution of Turkey's defense industry, the international engagements of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), the transformation of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), changes within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, counter-terrorism strategies, and energy policies.
This volume is ideal for scholars, researchers, and students in the fields of international relations, political science, Middle Eastern studies, and security studies. It will also appeal to policymakers and practitioners interested in understanding Turkey's evolving foreign policy and its implications for regional and global dynamics.
The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue in Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.
This volume is ideal for scholars, researchers, and students in the fields of international relations, political science, Middle Eastern studies, and security studies. It will also appeal to policymakers and practitioners interested in understanding Turkey's evolving foreign policy and its implications for regional and global dynamics.
The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue in Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 174 mm
Weight
490 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-041-30235-3 (9781041302353)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2026
Routledge
€60.99
Available for download

E-Book
06/2026
Routledge
€60.99
Available for download
Person
Saban Kardas is a Research Professor and Program Coordinator at the Gulf Studies Center at the College of Arts and Sciences at Qatar University, Qatar.
Content
Introduction: Debating the hard power turn in Turkish foreign policy 1. Scope, drivers and manifestations of the realist turn in Turkish foreign policy: a case of delayed strategic adjustment 2. Evaluating the advances and challenges in Turkey's defence industry: a comparative analysis 3. Turkey's military cooperation network through bilateral relations: the transition from military support recipient to provider 4. The nexus between intelligence and foreign policy in the Turkish context: strategic implications of the MIT's transformation 5. Counter-terrorism in the age of hard power: reassessing Turkey's policy against the PKK 6. From 'diplomacy' to hard power? Restructuring, weakening, and sidelining of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2009-2023) 7. Turkey's energy diplomacy and instrumentalization of hard power