Identity and Turkish foreign policy from a constructivist perspective: The Karabakh Wars in the context of relations with the Caucasus

In this thesis, which analyzes the place of identity in Turkish foreign policy based on a constructivist approach, the arguments suggesting that Turkey's foreign policy orientations, particularly after the Cold War, have caused changes in the identity of the Republic of Turkey and a shift in its axis, have been examined in terms of which identity shapes Turkish foreign policy and the processes of change and transformation that this identity is thought to have undergone over time. In this context, first, the identity of the Republic of Turkey was determined for analysis. It was concluded that Turkish identity was constructed in a Western manner under the influence of the modernization and Westernization process, which began as an effort to save the state in the Ottoman Empire and transformed into a phenomenon that established the state with the proclamation of the republic. Within this framework, the transformation of the Western identity that we encountered during the Cold War period in the post-Cold War era was addressed, and particularly the foreign policy orientations during the Justice and Development Party period were examined. In this context, Turkey's practices in the Caucasus and Karabakh Wars within the framework of its search for new foreign policy directions were analyzed. As a result of this analysis, it was observed that the state identity has not changed, but there has been a change in the perception of the West.