Hasan Yükselen

The ‘Century of Türkiye’ has been introduced as the new discourse of strategy in Turkish foreign policy with the centennial of the Republic of Türkiye. In this respect, this article explores which factors determined the emergence of the discourse, how the agency has perceived the shifts in structure, how Türkiye has positioned itself concerning shifts in the international political system, global economy, and geography, the perils and promises of determined strategy, and what the discourse entails. It is argued that the new strategy is articulated as a vision-oriented strategy and constitutes a continuity in the preceding century in the country’s quest for greater autonomy. The article points out factors that could cause incongruence between what is intended with the articulated strategy, what is spoken through discourse, and what is actualized at the end.

The international system is experiencing profound changes and has taken on an uncertain character as a result. The concept of strategy and its study has closely followed this trend, and new concepts have emerged both to adapt to and theoretically describe the practical changes and challenges it has engendered. This article explores the ill-suited features of mainstream debates and theorizing from a Turkish perspective and suggests that a critical realist analysis of agential strategizing is most useful to addressing the emerging context. It argues that Turkey has a long pursued grand strategy, but new concepts –resilience, protean power, and connectography– can enhance Turkey’s ability to strategize and can enrich the lately emerged vibrant debates exploring Turkey’s grand strategy.