Turkish Foreign Policy towards North Africa: Collapse of a Model

Turkey’s relationships with the Arab World have dominated Turkish foreign policy during the AKP government period. Throughout the 2000s, Turkey initiated new mechanisms in order to form economic, political and cultural cooperation with the Middle Eastern and North African states. In addition, until the emergence of the Arab Spring, Turkish/AKP model was admired by the international system as a crucial example of compatibility of Islam and democracy. In the first half of the 2000s, the adjustment of the Arab World into the international capitalist system was on the agenda in the context of Broader Middle East and North Africa Project; however, with the beginning of the Arab Spring, regional conjuncture has began to transform into a turmoil. Although this great transformation caused a rise about the Turkish model debates, it is seen that North African states, influenced from the extensive protests, have began to experience different political regimes during the following process. At this point, it can be said that the Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia, and then affected Egypt and Libya has an important impact on the Turkish foreign policy towards North Africa. This paper aimed to examine the reasons of Turkish/AKP model’s failure within the context of democratization process of North African states in the post-Arab uprisings period by accepting the Arab Spring as a turning point.