Karel Valansi'nin kaleminden...

This extended summary is prepared for the PhD thesis[1] that was successfully defended at the School of Graduate Studies, Department of International Relations, Kadir Has University, in January 2025. In the international system, states face a dual struggle encompassing both material and non-material dimensions of security. On the one hand, they must safeguard the tangible aspects of their existence, including political borders, military capabilities, human resources, and economic stability, which collectively ensure their physical survival (Waltz, 1979). On the other hand, states must address intangible needs critical for their ontological security; a sense of stability, self-consistency, and identity that allows them to navigate an uncertain international environment (Mitzen, 2006; Steele, 2008). This dissertation focuses on Israel as a case study to examine how states pursue ontological security, the role of recognition in maintaining it, and the ways in which narrative constructions...

In his opening speech at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on April 11, 2025, Turkish President Recep Tayyip  Erdogan  described Israel as a “terrorist state” that threatens regional stability, aiming to “stir up ethnic and religious affiliations in Syria and turn minorities against the government.” Since the fall of Assad’s regime in December 2024, Turkey and Israel have emerged as dominant power brokers in Syria, filling the void left by the diminishing influence of Russia and Iran. This new reality on the ground has significantly worsened the already tense relationship between Turkey and Israel. There is an ongoing debate about the possibility of a direct military confrontation between Turkey and Israel over Syria, which the media often amplifies into a drumbeat of a forthcoming war. In fact, beneath the noise, both countries display many parallel responses to the developments in Syria and, at times, share overlapping agendas that eventually force them to establish dialogue chann...

Turkey has been working away at recalibrating its foreign policy by tracking down new allies and issuing conciliatory statements—and it’s a crucial part of the country’s bid to become a regional leader, energy hub, and economic powerhouse. But are Ankara’s steps toward recalibration big enough to really change the regional landscape? Last month, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal hosted his Egyptian counterpart in  Ankara for rapprochement talks focusing on regional issues. The latest talks follow a first-round visit to  Cairo  in May, where Turkey and Egypt hashed out bilateral concerns. It’s a remarkable moment, since these visits marked the first high-level political consultations between the two powers since the 2013 military coup in Egypt, an event that led to a rapid deterioration in Cairo’s relationship with Ankara. But the recalibration isn’t just with Egypt. For several months now, Ankara has taken steps to normalize regional relationships that had been f...