Turkey's Neighbourhood and Beyond: Tectonic Transformation at Work?

Turkey's neighbourhood policy is being debated intensely in both the East and the West. Indeed, since the rise of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002, Turkey has gradually implemented a neighbourhood policy that has been changing the parameters in its immediate environs. It has been deepening its political dialogue, increasing its trade and encouraging direct people-to-people contact with its neighbours. Rather than painting Turkey's neighbourhood policy as a sign of Turkey turning away from the West, the sophistication and originality of this endeavour should be appreciated. Turkey's geography, history and its evolving regional identity are conducive to it becoming a cross-cutting power in a multipolar or nonpolar world.