Turkey's foreign policy toward Israel in 21st century in the context of Regional Security Complex Theory

The establishment of Israel as a state in 1948 has led to various religious, ethnic, and political conflicts that persist in the Levant sub-complex and the broader region to this day. Türkiye, a significant actor in shaping the security architecture of the Middle East, has experienced regional and global challenges and significant ruptures in its relations with Israel due to overlapping spheres of influence and security concerns. The political disagreements between Türkiye, a neighboring state to the Middle Eastern regional security complex, and Israel, a member of this complex, have often adversely affected the region's fate. The new Turkish foreign policy introduced by the Justice and Development Party, which came to power alone in 2002, was based on a series of principles that challenge the isolating role attributed to Türkiye by the Regional Security Complex Theory. In this context, the aim of this study, which focuses on Turkey-Israel relations, is to understand and explain Turkey's foreign policy towards Israel in the 21st century, as well as the continuities and ruptures in the relations between the two states, within the framework of the constructivist approach in general and the Regional Security Complex Theory developed by the Copenhagen School in particular. Within the scope of this theory, the changes in Turkey's foreign policy towards Israel in the 21st century have been analyzed in light of regional and global developments, considering the historical background of Turkish-Israeli relations, within the framework of securitization/desecuritization discourses and the sectoral security approach. Keywords: Turkish-Israeli Relations, Turkish Foreign Policy, Regional Security Complex Theory