Making Sense of Turkish Foreign Policy in the Middle East under AKP

Employing the four categories of change as defined by Charles Hermann and the insight of Walter Carlsneas that the dynamic between structure and agency causally condition each over time, the article conceptualizes change in Turkish foreign policy under the AKP. This theoretical analysis of Turkey's foreign policy allows for the examination of the interplay of domestic actors with the regional and international systems including their economic, identity and security components. It also explores the impact Turkey's activism in the area has had in Turkey and among the people of the region. Finally, it raises key questions as to the future of Turkish foreign policy as the outcomes of the Arab Spring develop.