The Process of changes in the Arab States and Its Influence on the Turkish Foreign Policy after 2010

Abstract

The process of political changes in the Arab states, which began in Tunisia in 2010, came as a complete surprise not only to international community, but also to all key players in the Middle East and in North Africa. Undoubtedly, Turkey was one of them. The main aim of this article is to analyze influence of the process on the foreign policy of Turkey after 2010. In order to do that, the author analyzes fundamental objectives of the Turkish foreign policy before and after 2010. He argues that two of them, namely zero problems with neighbors policy as well as a role of a mediator in the Middle East, are not valid anymore. Moreover, the internal conflict in Syria became a symbol of a failure of zero problems with neighbors policy. One of the weaknesses of the Turkish foreign policy was its dependence on personal relations between Turkish politicians and authoritarian leaders in the Arab states. Paradoxically, although Turkey supports changes in Egypt, this state can become its biggest regional rival in the nearest future. Last but not least, the author tries to find out whether so-called Turkish political model is attractive to the Arab states. He claims that although we can find some examples how Arab politicians follow the Turkish example in Tunisia, Morocco or Egypt, it is still not enough to assert that these states have already adopted the Turkish model.