AN EXAMINATION OF TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS DISPUTES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

Basically, geopolitical changes associated with Arabic revolutions and recent disputes in the Middle East and North Africa are happening while ideological and topics of value are linked with geographical issues, power balance, and regional role so that, these upheavals have led to a redefinition the role of regional and trans-regional actors. During these events, Turkey which's one of the regional actors, has tried to redefine its identity through geopolitical realities and Justice and Development Party (JDP) politicians awareness of those opportunities and constraints that are faced by them. Indeed, Turkish politicians perceive the recent revolutions as a good occasion to restore their past power and influence of the Ottoman Empire in the region, to promote the major objectives, and to become a main actor in the Middle East equations. Therefore, in this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate Turkey's approach and aims, challenges and opportunities against these developments within constructivism theory.

Foreign Policy, the Middle East, Political Challenges, North Africa