The Northern Iraq policy of Turkey

Northern Iraq has been an interesting foreign policy area for the analysis of Turkish foreign policy due to the fact that security concerns have dominated the foreign policy agenda besides economic and socio-cultural issues. However, Turkish interest in Northern Iraq is not limited to security domain; there are other aspects of Turkish interest in Northern Iraq such as historical ties and socio-cultural bonds. Moreover, in order to understand the current relationships between the Kurdish Regional Government and Turkey to analyze Turkish foreign policy towards Northern Iraq, a multi-dimensional analysis on the historical and theoretical ground should be asserted. To assess the Northern Iraq policy of Turkey comprehensively, this study represents the analysis of Turkish foreign policy towards Northern Iraq on the periodical and theoretical basis which consists of the Motherland Party, the Welfare Party and the Justice and Development Party periods. As a result of the periodical and theoretical assessment of Turkish foreign policy towards Northern Iraq, this study has revealed that Turkish foreign policy witnessed foreign policy activism towards Northern Iraq in these periods through the introduction and a peaceful, pragmatist and Islamic identity.