Turkey-Israel relations in the post-Cold War period in the context of identity-foreign policy relationship

The change in international relations with the end of the Cold War has brought about the fact that social concepts such as identity and culture have a place in international relations analysis. Alexander Wendt, who has made important contributions to the inclusion of identities in the discipline of international relations, argues that identities determine interests. Considering that interests also have effects on foreign policy, identities appear as a factor that should not be ignored in foreign policy analysis. Turkey-Israel relations are also affected by identities due to the experiences in Palestine. From the period leading up to the establishment of the state of Israel to the present day, Muslim and Jewish identities have come face to face. During this process, the problems experienced by Palestinian Muslims have made the Palestinian issue a sensitive issue for individuals with Muslim identity in many parts of the world. As a matter of fact, after the establishment of the state of Israel, it caused a prejudice against Israel. The fact that the public has an identity-based prejudice in which they feel a sense of belonging has brought about pressure on decision-makers. Therefore, Turkey-Israel relations, which are trapped between national interests and identities, tend to decline from time to time while entering normalization periods. The fact that the interests of the two countries are common and that this situation of common interests increases interdependence is effective in entering the normalization period of relations. However, the disappearance of common interests or the emergence of alternative allies brings identity problems to the light. Therefore, Turkey-Israel relations are in a cycle that can be called crisis, softening and normalization from the establishment of Israel to the present day.