Turkey's Goals in the South Caucasus

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ardakan University, Ardakan, Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran

Abstract
The South Caucasus is a very important region that has a significant place in the geopolitical landscape of the 21st century. The wars in Ukraine and Karabagh provided a unique opportunity for Türkiye to review its new strategic perspective. Following the implementation of the trust-building project with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, Turkey has adopted a multifaceted strategy to establish stability and balance. The current research, by applying the constructivist theory, seeks to answer the question, what are the economic, political and military goals of Turkey in the countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia? The findings of the research show that Turkey has a multifaceted strategy to achieve economic goals (access to the consumer market, investment and mastery of energy lines and ensuring energy security), political and strategic (expanding the sphere of strategic influence and geopolitical in the region and the international environment) and military and security (changing the military and security balance of the region by providing assistance to strategic allies). The result is that following the change of geopolitical realities in the Caucasus, Turkey is trying to increase its geopolitical weight in the world by applying a multifaceted strategy while reducing the role of its competitors, Russia and Iran in the region and by finding a way to improve relations with Armenia. Change and promote international multipolar order.

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