Diplomatic Soft Balancing as a Strategy in Turkey’s Fighting International Terrorism

30.06.2023 | Mehmet ALKANALKA

In this article, the fight against terrorism, which is the most important current security problem of the Republic of Turkey and which needs to be carried out more sensitively with its international dimension, is examined and a diplomatic solution proposal is given. The authority vacuum in failed states Iraq and Syria, also with the effect of the US military operations, caused the PKK/PYD to get stronger, which affected Turkey, the neighbor of both countries, very badly, and it also has had an impact on both social, economic and security dimensions. Neorealism, which was valid during the Cold War and accepted states as the main actors and assumed that states were strategic rational actors, cannot fully explain the developments in the 21st century. The USA is implementing an asymmetric balancing strategy against Turkey, ignoring Turkey's security sensitivities. The PKK/PYD terrorist organization, on the other hand, cooperates with the USA by acting opportunistically within the scope of the jackal bandwagoning strategy. One type of soft balancing is the signaling of resolve strategy. In this article, diplomatic signaling to resolve strategy is recommended with the participation of Turkey, Russia and Iran, as well as Syria, Iraq, and Egypt to the Astana Process against the USA.

Alkanalka, M. (2023). Diplomatic Soft Balancing as a Strategy in Turkey’s Fighting International Terrorism. Journal of Terrorism and Radicalization Studies, 2(2), pp. 216-237, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29228/trad.30