Turkey's iraqi policy during Turgut Özal and AK Party periods: A comparative analysis

This thesis will compare Turkey's Iraqi policy during the Özal years (1983-1993) when he was first Prime Minister and then President, and between 2002 and 2014, when AK Party came to power and Ahmet Davutoglu became Prime Minister. The Iraqi policy applied during the two periods has been examined separately considering the historical process. The comparison attempted to reveal the similarities and differences in the system and state level of politics in these two periods. The conclusion is that the system effect is seen at the stage of implementation of policies such as the preservation of the territorial integrity of Iraq in both periods, the obstruction of the establishment of a Kurdish state in the north of Iraq and the efforts to stop the existence of the PKK. The system effect, which also affects the world view of the policy makers, is observed in the Turkey-US relations during the Gulf War, in the transition from a bipolar to a multipolar world system, and in the globalization and liberalization processes, all of which were affected first by the end of the Cold War and then the September 11 attacks.