Information Package / Course Catalogue
Türkiye's Middle East Policy
Course Code: SBUI632
Course Type: Area Elective
Couse Group: Third Cycle (Doctorate Degree)
Education Language: Turkish
Work Placement: N/A
Theory: 3
Prt.: 0
Credit: 3
Lab: 0
ECTS: 5
Objectives of the Course

This course aims to equip students with the ability to analyze Turkey's relations with Middle Eastern countries and its policies towards the region throughout different periods from the founding of the Republic to the present day, by identifying the local, regional, and global factors that influenced the formation of these policies.

Course Content

This course examines Turkey's foreign policy towards the Middle East from the founding of the Republic to the present day within a historical and thematic framework. It explores the transformation from a status quo approach to multilateralism, and from "strategic depth" to an active regional policy following the Arab Spring; it evaluates the Syrian, Iraqi, Iranian, and Palestinian issues, as well as the energy geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean. Students will interpret the local, regional, and global factors influencing these policies using theoretical approaches.

Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes
1.The student gains analytical knowledge about the historical background of Turkey's Middle East policy from the founding of the Republic to the present day.
2.The student evaluates the local, regional, and global factors shaping Turkey's regional policy using theoretical approaches.
3.The student analyzes Turkey's stance during pivotal periods such as the Cold War, the Gulf Wars, and the Arab Spring.
4.The student produces an academic study focusing on a specific Middle Eastern issue (Syria, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, etc.) in Turkey, using case analysis methods.
5.The student develops the ability to apply and interpret foreign policy analysis and international relations theories within the context of Turkey's regional policy.
Recommended or Required Reading
1.Baskın Oran (ed.), (2012). Türk Dış Politikası: Kurtuluş Savaşından Bugüne Olgular, Belgeler, Yorumlar, Cilt I-II-III, İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
2.William Hale, 1774'ten Günümüze Türk Dış Politikası, 2025, Serbest Akademi
3.Ömer Kürkçüoğlu, (1972). Türkiye’nin Arap Orta Doğusu’na Karşı Politikası (1945-1970), Ankara: Sevinç Matbaası.
4.Mustafa Bıyıklı, (2011). Türkiye’nin Orta Doğu Politikaları, Ankara: Savaş Yayınevi.
5.Albert Hourani, (2009). Arap Halkları Tarihi (Çev.), İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
6.Tayyar Arı, Geçmişten Günümüze Ortadoğu, Alfa Aktüel Yayınları, 2017.
7.Sever, Ayşegül, Soğuk Savaş Kuşatmasında Türkiye, Batı ve Orta Doğu: 1945-1958, İstanbul, Boyut Kitapları, 1997.
8.Faruk Sönmezoğlu, Son Onyıllarda Türk Dış Politikası 1991-2015
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
Week 1 - Theoretical
Introduction: Course Content, Methodology, and Conceptual Framework — A 2000s Perspective
Week 1 - Preparation Work
B. Sinkaya, “Geçmişten Günümüze Türkiye’nin Ortadoğu Politikası ve Batı Etkisi,” ADAM Akademi 1/1 (2016). D. Aras, “Türkiye’nin Ortadoğu Politikaları,” Beş Deniz Havzasında Türkiye, Siyasal, 2006. F. S. Larrabee, “Turkey Rediscovers the Middle East,” Foreign Affairs 86/4 (2007).
Week 2 - Theoretical
Türkiye's Middle East Policy from the Early Years of the Republic to World War II (1923-1945)
Week 2 - Preparation Work
Oran (ed.), Türk Dış Politikası, Cilt I (ilgili bölümler). Amid Bein, Kemalist Ortadoğu, Alfa Yayınları, 2024.
Week 3 - Theoretical
Türkiye in the Face of the Cold War and New Crises in the Middle East (1945-1960)
Week 3 - Preparation Work
Kürkçüoğlu (1972). NATO, Bağdat Paktı, Süveyş Krizi, Arap milliyetçiliğiyle gerilim. M. Aydın, “Determinants… Changing Patterns and Conjunctures during the Cold War,” MES 36/1 (2000). H. Bağcı, “Demokrat Parti’nin Ortadoğu Politikası,” F. Sönmezoğlu (ed.), Türk Dış Politikasının Analizi, Der, 1995. Tayyar Arı, Geçmişten Günümüze Ortadoğu, Alfa Aktüel Yayınları, 2017.
Week 4 - Theoretical
The Arab-Israeli Wars and Türkiye (1948-1973)
Week 4 - Preparation Work
Oran (ed.), Türk Dış Politikası, Cilt I-II. (ilgili bölümler). Tayyar Arı, Geçmişten Günümüze Ortadoğu (İlgili Bölümler)
Week 5 - Theoretical
The Özal Era and the Gulf War (1980-1991)
Week 6 - Theoretical
Relations with the Middle East After the Cold War (1990-2001)
Week 6 - Preparation Work
B. Aral, “Dispensing with Tradition? … the Özal Decade, 1983-93,” Middle Eastern Studies 37/1 (2001). Tayyar Arı, Geçmişten Günümüze Ortadoğu (İlgili Bölümler)
Week 7 - Theoretical
Türkiye in the Face of the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (2001-2010)
Week 7 - Preparation Work
Oran (ed.), Türk Dış Politikası, Cilt II. (ilgili bölümler). Tayyar Arı, Geçmişten Günümüze Ortadoğu (İlgili Bölümler)
Week 8 - Theoretical
Türkiye-Middle East Relations in the 2000s (Introduction and Framework)
Week 9 - Theoretical
The Arab Spring and Türkiye
Week 9 - Preparation Work
Damla Aras, “Türkiye’nin Ortadoğu Politikaları,” M. Aydın & Ç. Erhan (ed.), Beş Deniz Havzasında Türkiye, Siyasal, 2006.
Week 10 - Theoretical
The Syrian Civil War and Türkiye: Border Security and Cross-Border Operations
Week 10 - Preparation Work
H. Bozarslan, Ortadoğu’nun Siyasal Sosyolojisi, İletişim, 2012. Z. Öniş, “Turkey and the Arab Spring…,” Insight Turkey 14/3 (2012). A. Stein, Turkey’s New Foreign Policy: Davutoğlu, the AKP and the Pursuit of Regional Order, Routledge, 2014.
Week 11 - Theoretical
Iraq and Iran: The Kurdistan Regional Government, Border Security, and Regional Competition
Week 11 - Preparation Work
Güncel ICG / SETA / İRAM Suriye raporları.
Week 12 - Theoretical
Türkiye's Palestine Policy
Week 13 - Theoretical
Student Presentations (Case Analysis)
Week 13 - Preparation Work
Week 14 - Theoretical
Student Presentations (Case Analysis)
Week 14 - Preparation Work
Week 15 - Preparation Work
Week 15 - Final Exam
Final exam
Week 16 - Preparation Work
Week 16 - Final Exam
Final exam
Week 17 - Preparation Work
Week 18 - Preparation Work
Week 19 - Preparation Work
Week 20 - Preparation Work
Week 21 - Preparation Work
Week 22 - Preparation Work
Week 23 - Preparation Work
Week 24 - Preparation Work
Week 25 - Preparation Work
Week 26 - Preparation Work
Week 27 - Preparation Work
Week 28 - Preparation Work
Week 29 - Preparation Work
Week 30 - Preparation Work
Week 31 - Preparation Work
Week 32 - Preparation Work
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Type of AssessmentCountPercent
Practice Examination1%60
Midterm Examination1%40
Workload Calculation
ActivitiesCountPreparationTimeTotal Work Load (hours)
Lecture - Theory143384
Midterm Examination115116
Final Examination120121
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)121
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
PÇ-1
PÇ-2
PÇ-3
PÇ-4
PÇ-5
PÇ-6
PÇ-7
OÇ-1
5
5
4
5
4
5
4
OÇ-2
4
5
4
5
4
5
3
OÇ-3
5
4
5
4
5
4
4
OÇ-4
4
5
4
5
4
5
3
OÇ-5
5
4
5
4
5
4
4
Adnan Menderes University - Information Package / Course Catalogue
2026