Turkish policy in the South Caucasus

Abstract

The South Caucasus region traditionally has an important role to play in global politics. This region for centuries has been an arena of confrontation for geopolitical and geostrategic interests between regional states and world powers; this affected the main transport routes, different cultures and religions. With the collapse of the USSR, the South Caucasus became an important and strategic place for Western countries; this bolstered the weakening of Russian influence in the region and the creation of a catalyst for further strengthening of its partners. Western countries sought to establish control over the extraction and diversification of Azerbaijani hydrocarbons. To fulfill these goals Western countries have relied on their ally Turkey, which also pursues its interests in the South Caucasus region.

Since the early 1990s, Turkey’s policy towards the countries of the South Caucasus has intensified. Turkey developed policies of expanding its influence in the region. These policies were complex; it included both economic, energy and cultural components. A key element of Turkey’s policy in the region was the energy aspect. In the issue of diversifying the energy resources of the South Caucasus Turkey has made significant progress by implementing projects of pipelines going through its territory, she achieved the status of an energetic conveyor. Another important area of Turkey’s policy in the South Caucasus was the cultural and educational aspect. It is based on the policy of «neo-Ottomanism», which includes elements of «pan-Turkism». The main purpose of this idea was to expand Turkey’s influence by educating pro-Turkic youth in the countries of the region, and also create a positive image for Turkey among various segments of the population that would support its policies.

The peculiarity of Turkey’s policy is a multilateral and flexible policy that includes both economic integration, energy cooperation, and a soft and effective policy that includes cultural interaction based on ethnic and linguistic similarity.