Is Turkey a regional stabilizer or troublemaker?

--- Max Erdemandi shares his research

By: Julia Simms

Many people view Turkey as a troublemaker because they go back and forth with their long held
alliances, showing signs of revisionist tendencies. However, Turkey thinks it’s playing a
regionally stabilizing role.

Max Erdemandi shared with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses
to Terrorism on Wednesday Aug. 1 that Turkey is both a regional stabilizer and troublemaker.
Erdemandi explains that turkey is being a troublemaker by making closed relationships with
Russia, trying to pivot to nations such as Iran and trying to establish connections and
partnerships with china. Whereas, it’s being a stabilizer because the Turkish government pursued
a policy of active engagement in Middle Eastern affairs, and began positioning Turkey to
become a major player in the region. The way one can understand how Turkey plays these two
roles is by using the role theory approach.
Erdemandi describes role theory as, “a great theoretical approach and perspective that allows for
people to focus on cognitive and behavioral processes behind individual decision makers with
the leaders of the countries as well as look at the relationship between the government or the
decision making body and the individual.”

With role theory in play Erdemandi was able to look at individual politicians and see how their
personal vendettas, beliefs and values affect foreign policy. So when it comes to Turkey being
both a regional stabilizer and troublemaker we’re now able to understand how.

Erdemandi shared that because the United States is no longer the only superpower it’s important
to understand foreign policy of places where leadership is temporal and decision making is
individualized, Turkey being one of those primary places.

“For instance, in the U.S. even though leadership changes the role doesn’t necessarily change
what changes is the way the role is played. But because Turkey’s system isn’t uniform it depends
on the individual leader and what they want to do, where they want to take the country,” said
Erdemandi.

Erdemandi lecture teaches us that because Turkey is becoming increasingly important in regards
to international affairs it’s important to know and understand how they make their decisions to
create better partnerships and construct better transnational security policies. While also
highlighting the importance of keeping countries that are vulnerable to terrorist ideologies away
from that, but in order for it to happen people need to understand the root cause and role theory is
the best approach to understanding that. Allowing for deep dissection into an individual or
governing body behavior.

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