Continuity of Maritime Disputes in Turkish Foreign Policy in Retrospect

Abstract

International Relations (IR) scholars generally focus on disputes on land when they study international affairs. However, disputes on the sea are also very common in IR, and the states try to establish global and regional hegemonies over the seas in their regions. In retrospect, in case of Turkey, maritime disputes have been important factors in Turkish foreign policy. The Turks will celebrate the centennial of the Republic in 2023, and maritime disputes have been an unchanging factor in Turkish foreign policy in this last 100 years, in relation to neighbors and great world powers. Therefore, one may stipulate that Turkey has been both an important sea power, and that maritime disputes have also shown a continuous recurrence in its foreign relations. Due to Turkey’s strategic location in between significant seaways like the Aegean Sea, Mediterranean, Black Sea and Turkish Straits, and between the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, maritime disputes have always been on the agenda, as items of Turkish foreign policy. In this context, this paper analyses maritime disputes in Turkish foreign policy as a continuous element of Turkey’s relations with its neighbors and the rest of the world.