The Roles Turkey Played in the Middle East (2002–2016)

Turkey’s increasing foreign policy activism in the Middle East has been an issue that caused academic and policy debate particularly since 2000. Shifting the focus of this debate from the binary opposition in Turkey’s foreign policy orientation, that is, Turkey moving to the East or West, this chapter contributes to the debate by analysing the foreign policy roles that Turkey has played in the Middle East since 2000. This analysis looks into not only the rhetoric of foreign policy roles but also the role performance by Turkey in the Arab-majority Middle East since 2000.