From securitization to desecuritization : Decoding Turkish foreign policy towards Iran

Turkey?s turbulent relations with Iran have undergone significant changes in the recent history. From the early years of the Turkish Republic, foreign policy elites had a tendency to externalize the sources of domestic threats. Especially, the Iranian regime was presented as the external source of rising Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey. However, according to the Turkish foreign policy literature, the security-driven athmosphere in Turkish-Iranian relations has witnessed a clear change in 2000s. The impact of the security discourse of Turkish elites regarding Iran?s Islamic regime has declined and a rapprochement process between Turkey and Iran has begun. The declining role of military in Turkish politics, the Islamic political background of the AKP government, and Davutoğlu?s `Strategic Depth? doctrine are presented as major determinants of that rapproachment. This study, while focusing on the changing dynamics of Turkish-Iranian relations between 1990 and 2011, argues that the domestic political discourse of Turkish elites have been influential in this process. Utilizing the `securitization theory? of the Copenhagen School, it proposes a structured framework to analyze the link between the domestic politics and foreign policy. Accordingly, it asks: `How do domestic political changes influence Turkey?s policy preferences towards Iran?? In line with the Copenhagen School?s argument that `securitization? is a product of `speech act?, the study utilizes the political discourse of TFP elites. The speeches that are published in Turkish daily newspapers are analyzed in detail. Such analysis is argued to be an organized and comprehensive comparison of Turkey?s Iran policy in the 1990s and 2000s. Keywords: Turkish Politics, Turkish Foreign Policy, Turkish-Iranian Relations, AKP, Securitization Theory