Religion in Turkish Diplomacy

During the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, the rise of religion in Turkish diplomacy was noted. It was assumed that by fulfilling specific functions, religions are fundamental to implementing the main principle of the state's foreign policy. Religion can become an instrument for assessing influence in the international arena, expanding its influence regionally, and also an instrument for dependent projection. Subsequent mediations and events in the dialogue between the Republic's civilizations are aimed at stabilizing new areas and providing important elements of a geopolitical "player." Its goal was also to shape a new global balance of power. The organization was attributed to religion, which is subject to the influence of the AKP government and President (formerly Prime Minister) Erdoğan. This publication describes, specifies, and discusses the functions of religion in Turkish diplomacy. It addresses the question of whether religion figures in the country's foreign policy decisions. The following research methods and techniques were employed in this paper. Factor analysis were conducted to identify the determinants of religion’s use in Turkish diplomacy. In this context, ideological, socio-political, historical, and geo-political factors were considered paramount Content analysis of documents—in this case, excerpts from the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey—allowed for the identification of the significance and role of Islam in society. An analysis of the state of the literature and research was applied to the collected empirical material and its subsequent verification.