Analyzing Turkey's interactions with Greece and Syria in the post-Cold War era

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze foreign policy patterns of Turkey within the context of Turkish-Greek and Turkish-Syrian relations. The interactions between Turkey and its neighbors are analyzed for the period between 1990 and 1998 on a scale ranging from cooperation to hostility. Content analysis and, more particularly, events data are applied. The issues analyzed are those pertaining to the Aegean Sea, Cyprus, security and water. The premise, which argues that Turkey has adopted a dynamic foreign policy in the 1990s, was investigated and the results generally support it. Turkey is found to be the most active country in the study whose average behavior was usually more assertive than the rest. The use of content analysis enabled the systematic study of Turkish foreign policy. The theoretical, methodological and practical implications are further discussed in this study.