Shift-of-axis in Turkish Foreign Policy: Turkish National Role Conceptions Before and During AKP Rule

This article examines Turkish national role conceptions in 1992-2012, identified based on leading Turkish foreign policy-makers' statements. It contends that the notion that "shift of axis" arguments proliferated in the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) era is misleading. The pattern of Turkish foreign policy roles expressed by the political elite in the period under examination suggests a gradual change toward an ambitious attitude rather than a shift of axis. A plausible explanation would be that the foreign policy roles under any government heavily reflect objective national interests and capabilities, thus a shifting of axis is unlikely to occur without a significant change in these variables.