Effects of Turkey's Bluevatan policies on its relations with Eastern Mediterranean countries

The Eastern Mediterranean region has always held an important position throughout history. The Eastern Mediterranean is located at the intersection of the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe, starting from the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, passing through Spain and Southern France, covering Italy and Greece, and including countries such as Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. In this respect, the Eastern Mediterranean, where most developing countries are located, is a region geographically shared by neighbouring states. In recent years, new and rich hydrocarbon resources discovered under the sea have turned this region into an area of conflict and have led to the formation of important relations at the diplomatic level. The importance of the region has increased with the discovery of underground resources in the 21st century. The countries surrounding the Eastern Mediterranean want to benefit from opportunities and renewable/non-renewable resources to the maximum extent in line with their national interests. This is where Turkey's "Blue Homeland" policy comes into play. The "Blue Homeland" doctrine is Turkey's strategy to protect its national interests at sea. The study aims to evaluate the "Blue Homeland" doctrine in the context of international relations theories and to analyse the impact of this doctrine on Turkey's relations with regional actors in the Eastern Mediterranean. The main claim of the thesis is that this policy has become a determining framework in Turkey's foreign policy and has shaped relations with countries such as Greece, the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus, TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus), Palestine, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Libya, particularly through maritime jurisdictions and energy diplomacy. In the analysis conducted with the qualitative method, Turkey's strategic orientation and the forms of interaction with the actors in the region were examined. Based on this, the study addressed the events within the framework of economic and political developments in the region, and attempted to evaluate the economic and political consequences of Turkey's Blue Homeland policies in the Eastern Mediterranean for the parties, and also made policy recommendations.