Quest for ontological security in foreign policy: The case of Türkiye (2002-2023)

This study aims to analyze Turkey's foreign policy between 2002 and 2023 within the framework of ontological security theory. Ontological security theory offers an approach that focuses not only on the physical security of states but also on their efforts to protect their continuity of self and identity stability. In this context, the main question of the research is the ontological security concerns that shaped Turkey's foreign policy during this period and how these concerns manifested themselves in foreign policy discourse and practices. In addition to this main question, the study seeks answers to the following sub-questions: What kind of identity narrative did Turkey develop in the post-2002 period? Which domestic and foreign policy developments threatened or strengthened this identity narrative? How did Türkiye's foreign policy discourse and practices meet its ontological security needs during this period? In particular, how did Turkey's existential orientation become evident in times of crisis? In search of answers to these questions, identity policies, foreign policy preferences and discursive orientations shaped by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government were examined. The findings show that the national self and role identities constructed by the AKP are the motivations that guide Turkish Foreign Policy. In addition, it is among the findings that the motivation behind the irrational actions in foreign policy during this period was the lack of recognition by other actors in the international arena of the roles defined by the AKP for Turkey.