Energy supply security of the organisation of Turkic states: risks, opportunities and future projections

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the emergence of Turkic-speaking countries into the international system brought about profound changes in the region’s geopolitics. The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was established in 2009 through the Nakhchivan Agreement, signed with the aim of developing cooperation among Turkic-speaking countries. Within a theoretical framework, the dynamics of integration are frequently analyzed through a neo-functionalist approach. The OTS’s structural development and the concrete achievements it has made to date across various sectors bear a strong resemblance to the neo-functionalist approach. Neo-functionalist theorists, who advocate for the applicability of Europe’s integration experience on a global scale, explain how cooperation initiatives launched by national governments eventually extend beyond their initially intended boundaries over time through the concept of the “spillover effect.” The technical and economic cooperation in the energy sector within the OTS framework has created a “spillover effect” that triggers political integration. This thesis demonstrates that Turkey’s goal of becoming an energy corridor and energy hub along with strategic mechanisms such as the Turkish Investment Fund and the Middle Corridor has the potential to turn the Turkic World 2040 Vision into reality by counterbalancing the regional hegemony of major powers like Russia and China within the context of energy geopolitics. Furthermore, it is assessed that the cooperation strategies the OTS will develop, with a focus on energy supply security, will serve as the most concrete and operational driving force for regional integration in the Turkic World’s potential future political unification process.