Middle power activism in the global South: A comparativestudy on foreign policies of India and Türkiye

This thesis outlines the main elements of foreign policy of Türkiye and India whereas Türkiye is a member of an alliance system, India did not join any overt alliance system. That being said, both countries are trying to maintain their strategic autonomy in international affairs in an emerging multipolar world order. This thesis underlines foreign policy choices of India and Türkiye based on three-level analysis : global-systemic level of analysis, regional level of analysis and domestic level of analysis. This thesis finds that Türkiye is not apprehensive about the rise of China and its growing influence as India due to the different geographical locations. Furthermore, historical legacies such as non-alignment doctrine in India and membership of an alliance system as seen in the case of Türkiye have explanatory power in understanding foreign policy analysis of these two countries. Therefore, the institutional path dependence in Türkiye and India is an important explanatory variable leading to the fact that these two countries might not have any convergence in foreign policy. This is because Türkiye is a middle power in the Global South embedded within Western institutions whereas the lack of embeddedness in Western institutions give room for maneuverability in Indian foreign affairs.