Patriots in Turkey
The Patriot deployments signify Turkey’s attempt to secure itself and its allies against touted missile threats from the two countries with which it shares borders to the east – Syria and Iran.
- S. Samuel C. Rajiv
- January 24, 2013
The Patriot deployments signify Turkey’s attempt to secure itself and its allies against touted missile threats from the two countries with which it shares borders to the east – Syria and Iran.
Turkey is realising that a soft power-based foreign policy was successful and gave returns with minimum risks only when the region was stable. With the Middle East going through a political transformation, Turkey will have to invent new strategies to remain relevant and continue its rise a regional power.
Iran, Israel and Turkey have adopted a two pronged approach to deal with the Arab Spring: avoid the negative consequences of the uprisings while at the same time deriving mileage to further their interests in an uncertain neighbourhood.
The Arab countries where people have successfully overthrown the dictatorial regimes now face the daunting task of moving forward with democratic processes, economic development and institution building.
With the resignation of the service chiefs and Erdo?an’s consolidation of control, Turkey has taken a huge step towards political normalization and consolidating its democracy.
With Turkey’s accession negotiations for EU membership going nowhere, Ankara is pursuing other diplomatic options.
Turkey is blessed with a favourable geography. It straddles Asia and Europe, is surrounded by sea on three sides, controls the only link to the Black Sea, and has moderate climatic conditions, abundant energy resources in its neighbourhood and a defensible terrain. It also has the civilisational and historical past, having ruled over large swathes of territory including North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, Caucasus and Central Europe in the heyday of the Ottoman Empire.
The Iranian nuclear stand-off is still a major issue in global politics. From international players like the European Union, the United States and the United Nations, to individual states, almost each country has its own stake in the issue. However, the recent deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil has not only changed the nature of the issue, but also the discussion itself. The deal has changed the nature because the one-sided dialogue between the international community and Iran is no longer relevant.
From a broader perspective, the referendum and the debates around it should be seen as the latest example of the domestic transformation of Turkish politics especially since the AKP came to power in 2002.
What will define the future of Turkey-India relations in not Cyprus or Pakistan, but the stress on mutual strengthening of their economies and providing an environment for greater understanding of each other.



