Turkey's 'Return' to Central Asia in a Shifting Global and Regional Context: New Opportunities and Limitations

Altunışık M.

JOURNAL OF BALKAN AND NEAR EASTERN STUDIES, cilt.26, sa.5, ss.716-731, 2024 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 26 Sayı: 5
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/19448953.2024.2308971
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF BALKAN AND NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Historical Abstracts, Humanities Abstracts, Index Islamicus, PAIS International, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.716-731
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Turkey has been becoming more active in Central Asia recently. This activism entails increasing linkages in the economic, energy, and transport areas, as well as deepening cultural and political relations. Although there are some continuities, Turkey's new engagement with the region differs from its previous engagements in important ways. The region has also changed, as have extra-regional actors and their roles. This article illustrates the shifting global and regional contexts, and how these shifts have motivated the AKP government's renewal of interest in Central Asia. The new regional constellations provide both opportunities and challenges for Turkey's Central Asia engagement. For example, competition among the major powers and regional countries' quest to diversify their foreign policies provide Turkey with new opportunities, yet Turkey's complex relations with each of these actors and the challenge of balancing limits its return.