International Journal of Law And Criminology
24
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijlc
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue03 2025
PAGE NO.
24-26
10.37547/ijlc/Volume05Issue03-05
Tur
key’s role in ensuring security in the middle east after
the “
A
rab spring”
Azimov Habibullo Yakubovich
PhD. Senior Lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, Uzbekistan
Received:
24 January 2025;
Accepted:
25 February 2025;
Published:
23 March 2025
Abstract:
As a result of the political, economic, and social instability that began with the “Arab Spring” in the
Middle East, ensuring security in the region has become increasingly concerning. Within the region, the activities
of radical religious groups, opposition forces against political authority, and separatist factions have intensified
simultaneously. In this context, analyzing the role and approaches of regional and global power centers in ensuring
security in the Middle East is of great importance. This article examines Turkey's role in maintaining security in
the Middle East after the “Arab Spring”
.
Keywords:
Middle East, “Arab Spring,” Kurds, Geopolitics, National Security, Opposition, Crisis
.
Introduction:
The Middle East holds a significant place
in human civilization. It is well known that all major
monotheistic religions originated in this region before
spreading to other parts of the world. In the present
day, the number of religious, ethnic, and sectarian
conflicts in the region continues to rise, increasing
concerns about security.
The Middle East’s vast underground and surface
resources, as well as its strategic geographical location,
enhance its political and economic significance in
international relations. However, not all countries in
the region enjoy political or economic stability. Factors
that once united the nations of the Middle East, such as
ethnic, religious, and sectarian similarities, are now
contributing to division and conflict. This situation
directly affects regional security and socio-political
processes.
This
article focuses on Turkey’s role as a regional power
in ensuring security in the Middle East, as well as its
concerns and geopolitical interests related to regional
stability.
Literature Review
The Middle East has always been a focal point in
Turkey’s fo
reign policy due to its geographical ties to
the region and its significance for Turkey’s geopolitical
and national security interests. As a result, the study of
Turkey’s policies in the Middle East has attracted
considerable academic interest. Scholars analyzing
Turkey’s role in the region include both Turkish and
Western researchers.
Among the Turkish scholars who have extensively
studied Turkey’s foreign policy are Ali Balcı (Türkiye dış
politikası: İlkeler, aktörler, uygulamalar, 2013), Mücahit
Özçelik
(İkinci Dünya Savaşı’nda Türk Dış Politikası,
2010), Tayyar Arı (Geçmişten günümüze Orta Doğu:
siyaset, savaş ve diplomasi, 2012), and Çağrı Erhan
(Türk-
Amerikan ilişkilerinin tarihsel kökenleri, 2001).
Western scholars have also examined Turkey’s foreign
policy strategies. Bernard Lewis (Islam and the West,
1993) analyzed the historical relationship between
Islam and the Western world, providing insights into
Turkey’s positioning. Alexander Murinson (The
strategic depth doctrine of Turkish foreign policy, 2006)
explored Turkey’s geopolitical approach, particularly its
“Strategic Depth” doctrine. Henry J. Barkley (Turkish
foreign policy and the Middle East, 2011) studied
Turkey’s diplomatic engagements in the region.
In recent years, scholars from Central Asia, including
Uzbekistan, have also begun analyzing Turkey’s foreign
policy more closely, reflecting the growing academic
interest in Turkey’s geopolitical influence in the Middle
East.
Main Part
When we examine the current socio-political processes
International Journal of Law And Criminology
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International Journal of Law And Criminology (ISSN: 2771-2214)
in the Middle East, the issue of ensuring security in the
region remains a primary concern due to the situation
arising from the “Arab Spring.” As a result of the
involvement
of
international
power
centers,
demonstrations that began with the aim and hope of
democratizing the region led to a multitude of security
problems at varying levels, including terrorism,
radicalization, and migration.
Some of these problems emerged directly from the
demonstrations, while others were the result of long-
standing historical processes that escalated after the
2010 “Arab Spring” protests and the intervention of
international and regional power centers. Before the
mass protests began in the region, issues such as the
Arab-Israeli conflict, regime security, the arms race,
and the polarization between Iran and the Gulf Arab
states had existed for decades. However, under the
influence of the “Arab Spring,” these issues reached a
new stage.
It can be observed that many of the security problems
currently faced in the Middle East are not new. They
have been longstanding issues that have intensified
due to recent developments, and their complexities
have grown as a result of both regional and
international interventions.
The political instability and stability in the Middle East
directly
affect Turkey’s national security. Therefore,
Turkey cannot remain indifferent or distant from the
socio-political developments in the region. The founder
of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, once
stated, “There is no homeland for Turks in the
Middle
Eastern swamp,” and sought to keep the newly
established state away from political involvement in
the region. However, over time, Turkey’s policy toward
the Middle East has evolved both in structure and
rhetoric.
Rather than remaining detached from regional
problems, Turkey has adopted a solution-oriented
diplomatic approach. Today, concepts such as
cooperation,
integration,
development,
and
partnership between Turkey and Middle Eastern states
have gained significance. After the Arab Spring, Turkey
adjusted its foreign policy approach to the Middle East,
seeking to leverage the changing political climate to its
advantage. As a result, Turkey’s historical influence in
the region has been revitalized.
While Turkey previously avoided direct involvement in
Middle Eastern conflicts, it has now emerged as a key
actor in resolving disputes among regional states. In
this new era, Turkey’s policy toward the Middle East is
based on open diplomacy and constructive relations
aimed at ensuring peace and stability.
As the “Arab Spring” spread across most Arab
countries in the Middle East, Turkey found itself
entangled in numerous challenges. The socio-political
instability in the region also led to shifts in Turkey’s
political outlook toward the Middle East. At a certain
point, due to various reasons, Turkey had tense
relations with its neighbor, Syria.
In 1998, Turkey and Syria signed the Adana Agreement,
which gradually improved bilateral relations. Despite
pressure from the United States, Turkey-Syria relations
continued to develop until 2011. In December 2009,
then-
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited
Damascus with a high-level delegation, and in May
2010, Bashar al-
Assad’s visit to Turkey took place in a
completely friendly atmosphere.
However, in 20
10, mass protests known as the “Arab
Spring” erupted in Tunisia due to widespread issues
such as unemployment, corruption, poor living
conditions, and restrictions on freedom of speech.
These protests quickly spread to other countries facing
similar problems, including Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, and
Syria.
The “Arab Spring” reached Syria in March 2011,
significantly affecting relations between Turkey and
Syria. As the situation in Syria evolved, Turkey did not
remain a passive observer of the Ba'ath government’
s
policies against Syrian citizens and protesters. Instead,
it sided with opposition groups against the Assad
regime.
Turkey’s primary objective in this move was to
strengthen its regional influence and actively
participate in the overthrow of a long-standing
adversarial regime in Syria. By playing an active role in
the region’s transformation process, Turkey aimed to
expand its influence in the Middle East and reshape the
regional power dynamics in its favor [Oran, Baskın (ed.),
2017, Türk Dış Politikası: Kurtuluş Savaşından Bugüne
Olaylar, Belgeler, Yorumlar, Cilt: III 2001- 2012,
İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları]. In the early 2000s, along
with improving relations with Syria, Turkey also
strengthened its ties with Lebanon. In 2004, high-level
reciprocal visits took place between the two countries.
However, after the assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005
and the Hezbollah-
Israel conflict in 2006, Turkey’s
opposition parties strongly criticized the AK Party’s
Middle East policy.
Critics in Turkey viewed this situation as a gradual
attempt by the U.S. and Israel to drag Turkey into the
“Middle
Eastern
quagmire.”
Despite
internal
opposition, Turkey continues to pursue an active
foreign policy in the Middle East, demonstrating
independent political will in the region.
The peace and security of the Middle East region also
means the socio-political stability and security of
International Journal of Law And Criminology
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https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijlc
International Journal of Law And Criminology (ISSN: 2771-2214)
Turkey. After the outbreak of the crisis in Iraq and Syria,
the terrorist attacks against Turkey by ISIS, the
Kurdistan Workers' Party and their affiliated groups,
the Democratic Union Party and the People’s
Protection Units, the shooting down of a Russian plane
in Turkish airspace, the sending of Russian military
forces to Syria after the events of the “Damascus
Spring” and the bombing of the Bayi
rbuchak Turkmen
near the Turkish border, which led to the aggravation
of Russian-
Turkish relations, and the US “Kurdish
Corridor” project, which further cooled Syrian
-Turkish
relations, mean that new threats have emerged to
Ankara’s national security.
The wave of refugees that Turkey has faced since the
Arab Spring has had a significant impact on the
country’s social, political, cultural and security
processes. To this day, Turkey spends a large amount of
money on the refugees that are already in the country.
This is an excessive burden on the country’s socio
-
economic situation. The implementation of Turkey’s
Syrian refugee policy, which aims to “gradually return
refugees to their homes”, is very complicated and time
-
consuming due to the unstable situation in Syria. After
the fall of the Baath regime in Syria, it is of fundamental
importance for Turkey to work with the international
community to develop joint solutions on the issue of
Syrian refugees.
Turkey, through operations “Euphrates Shield”, “Olive
B
ranch”, “Peace Spring” and “Claw Sword”, has
thwarted the US “Kurdish Corridor” project and
changed the balance of influence of external forces in
Syria. In December 2024, an interim government was
formed in Syria after the fall of the Baath regime. The
current interim government in Syria is made up of
leaders of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group and
members of the Free Syrian Army, which opposes the
rule of Bashar al-Assad on the Turkish side. Turkey is
thus participating in the new political processes in Syria
as a regional powerhouse. As a result of Turkey’s
disastrous policy in the Middle East, several countries
in the region are feeling the need to reconsider their
relations with it. In particular, Egypt and the Arab
countries of the Gulf can be mentioned separately.
Taking into account Turkey's domestic political path, as
well as its foreign policy tasks and obligations in the
region, the revival of the “Levant Quartet” format in
resolving the Syrian crisis is urgent and important. This
format may play a major role in the process of
regulating relations between Turkey and the countries
of the Middle East region in the future.
CONCLUSION
Analyzing Turkey’s current policy in the Middle East, it
can be said that Turkey’s current active foreign policy
in the region aims to prevent threats to its security, as
it is a regional power center, and thereby protect its
geopolitical interests and national security in the
region. Turkey’s reduction in foreign policy activity in
the Middle East in the current circumstances will lead
to a decrease in its political influence.
REFERENCES
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