Obama's Asia-Pacific Orientation and the Implications for Turkey and Turkish-American Relations

This paper analyses the recent shift, also called "rebalancing" or "pivot to Asia", in US foreign policy under Obama towards the Asia-Pacific region, as it gradually distances itself from other regions, such as the Middle East, as well as its implications for Turkey as an increasingly influential Middle Eastern actor. It first argues that a new era in US foreign policy has begun, albeit with huge undertakings and responsibilities in carrying out this momentous shift, while it is also true that the US has not released itself from all commitments it undertook in other key regions. The second argument is that Turkey is among the regional powers which will be affected by the US reorientation in the sense that there are both opportunities and challenges both countries would face in managing this transformation. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]