Turkey’s new identity revisited and its Islamist reflections in North Cyprus

Some scholars argue that Turkish foreign policy has undergone a structural change since 2002. This shift in Turkey’s identity is primarily linked to the ascendancy of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi – AKP) and its proactive foreign policy towards Turkey’s eastern neighbourhood. The change in Turkey’s identity and foreign policy is mostly intertwined with the Islamist identity embraced by the AKP, which can be traced back to the National Vision Movement (Milli Görüş Hareketi). This article aims to analyse what are said to be ‘newly’ established preferences in AKP identity and its reflections in Turkey’s foreign policy, particularly since 2009/2010. The main argument is that the emergence of this new ideological discourse has had immediate reflections on Turkey’s relationship with North Cyprus.