Tourism and Trade Dimensions of Turkish-Greek Relations under Erdogan Governments

Abstract As it is known, after the parliamentary elections of 2002, Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in Turkey and the country has been governed by three Erdogan’s cabinets between 14 March 2003 and 29 August 2014 until he was elected president of the republic. In this period, not only the basic features of politics but also Turkish-Greek relations have been altered and tourism and trading have helped to this change. In this study, the alteration of the Turkish-Greek relations will be examined in the context of trade and tourism with the use of Keohane and Nye’s theory of complex interdependence. According to this theory, states which have controversial issues or historical problems may avoid the tension and conflicts under economic interdependency. In this context, the aim of this study is to put forward the alterations and progress among these states through economic relations under Erdogan governments between 2002 and 2014. In conjunction with the progress, it can be claimed that the economic relations are getting better every passing day.Key words: Greece, Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan, Justice and Development Party, trade, tourism.