Sustainability of the strategic partnership between Turkey and Russia a game theoretical analysis

Abstract

Since the dissolution of the USSR, the development of political relations between Turkey and Russia have paved the way for their recent closer relations which have been highlighted by different labels or concepts both in the media and in scholarly publications. Among these concepts/labels, ‘strategic partnership’ was expressed more frequently to define the relationship between the two countries in newspapers and the academic literature. Despite the popular use of the strategic partnership, there is no consensus on its definition or a consistent frame to explain this new form of cooperation between Turkey and Russia in the literature. Thus, this thesis aims to examine the strategic partnership as a function of existing interdependence between Turkey and Russia. Moreover, this thesis proposes two hypotheses about the sustainability of the strategic partnership between the two countries and tests the hypothesis by using the game theory. According to findings of thesis, no higher conflict would be expected between two countries which in turn would further highlight the sustainability of the interdependence between Turkey and Russia in the short and mid-term.