Decoding Turkeys Lust for Regional Clout in the Middle East: A Role Theory Perspective

Abstract

This essay examines the domestic and external roots of Turkeys activism in the Middle East through the lens of role theory. Within this context, the essay falls into three sections. In the first part,

the conceptual tools that are going to be used in decoding the roots of Turkish activism will be

examined. The second section will discuss the national role conceptions of Turkish foreign policy elites

for the Middle East, while the third section will examine the expectations of external actors about

Turkeys role in the region. In the empirical sections of the essay, the methodology will involve a close

examination of both Turkish foreign policy elites and external actors speeches, which are assumed to

deliver cues about Turkeys role conceptions in the Middle East.