The economic and political effects of the Arab Spring on Turkey: evaluation on selected countries

The Middle East region has become a geography that gains importance day by day due to the fact that the transit route of a large part of world trade is provided through the straits in the region and it is home to the holy places of the three major religions, as well as having rich energy resources. The events that started as an individual action in 2010 and turned into a social movement and protest in this region with the domino effect were called the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring had economic, political and social effects both in the countries that experienced the Spring and in the surrounding countries. Turkey, which has close relations with the countries where the Arab Spring took place, was also affected economically and politically by this process in its close geography. The effect of the Arab Spring on Turkey was not only the budget allocated to the Syrian refugees who came to Turkey from Syria. Turkey has been and still is affected by the Arab Spring in many different ways. In the study, the effects of the economic and political relations of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Syria with Turkey on the Turkish economy and politics were analyzed during the Arab Spring process. In this study, how the Arab Spring affected Turkey's economic and political relations with these countries was examined with the data obtained from official institutions. According to the statements of official institutions and individuals, the economic cost of the Arab Spring to Turkey was high. Turkey, which had positive political relations with the regional states before the Arab Spring, also experienced a decline in its political relations after the Spring. In this study, when the political and economic effects of the Arab Spring on Turkey were examined, it was observed that there were problems in Turkey's political and economic relations with the regional states. Finally, it has been tried to show that there is an undeniable fact that there is a very close connection between foreign policy and economics that determine the relations between countries. Keywords: The Arab Spring, Economic Impact, Middle East, Political Influence, Turkey.