Marxist International Relations and Turkish Foreign Policyvis-à-vis the Gulf Countries

Uysal, Gonenc (2026) Marxist International Relations and Turkish Foreign Policyvis-à-vis the Gulf Countries. In: The ‘New Turkey’ in the Broader Middle East : Reflections on International Relations Theory. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 231-253. ISBN 9783032033482

Abstract

Beginning in 2002, the AKP presented its efforts to enhance political, economic, and military relations with the Gulf countries as a demonstration of its “proactive” foreign policy. Nevertheless, the same “proactive” foreign policy has fuelled geopolitical rivalries and economic competition between and among Turkey, the Gulf countries, and Western countries while contributing to relations of dependence among them. This chapter borrows from Marxism/historical materialism in order to explore the Turkish foreign policy vis-à-vis the Gulf countries in accordance with antagonistic class relations and contradictions of capital accumulation. In this sense, it examines the AKP’s “proactive” foreign policy as a form of sub-imperialism pursued by a country that represents the periphery of the world capitalist system.