Article

Political Identity and Foreign Policy: The Other Perception of Kemalist’s and Conservative Liberal’s Political Identity and Their Harmonizing with International Structure

ABSTRACT

In this study, it is argued that political identities affect foreign policy. In the framework of this assumption, it is the argument of the study that the Kemalist and liberal-conservative syntheses political identities influenced Turkish foreign policy within the context of their own world imagination. In order to support this argument, constructivism has been chosen as the basic theory of the study because of the fact that constructivists claim that norms, ideologies, identities and ideas shape foreign policy. In this way, they count in identities and ideas into the foreign policy analysis. Interpretative (hermeneutical) methodology has been used in the study. It has been tried to determine the definition of Kemalist and liberal-conservative identities self-perception, the definition of their other-perception, and which cultures of international structure they are near via interpretivist methodology. While CHP and the Turkish military have adopted Kemalist identity, ANAP and AKP have adopted liberal-conservative articulation. Kemalist identity on foreign policy is generally in neutral, and sometimes in distant against Western states having imperialist discourse. In addition, it had been in distant against communist Russia and Middle East states, but after the falling of communist Russia it has become in neutral against Russia. Liberal-conservative’s identity has been in close proximity to Western and Middle East states. Further it had been in distant communist Russia. However, it has been in neutral against Russia after the falling of Soviet. Alexander Wendt’s three anarchy cultures have been used in discussing with which cultures of international structure Kemalist and liberal-conservative political identities conform. Liberal-conservative has worked in harmony with the international structure at the time when they managed Turkish foreign policy like Kemalist. Although Kemalists have a Lockean culture, they are oriented towards Kantian culture on the military basis. Liberal-conservatives have differentiated from Kemalists, because liberal-conservative identity is oriented towards Kantian culture military, cultural and economic basis.

Keywords

Turkish foreign policy foreign policy analysis political identity Kemalism liberal-conservative articulation constructivism three cultures of anarchy