Continuity and Change in Turkish Foreign Policy During the JDP Governments

There has been a wide debate in Turkey about the changing orientations, directions and conducts of Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP) during the JDP governments. This article examines the JDP era with reference to some structural changes such as change in Turkey’s foreign trade profile, change on Turkish citizens travel destinations and changing composition of incoming tourists to Turkey, change in Turkey’s culture industry and exportation of Turkey’s culture products abroad, change in foreign direct investments to Turkey. The article also examines the ideational parameters of JDP’s foreign policy based on the writings and speeches of Ahmet Davutoðlu as intellectual architect and then as JDP government’s Minister of Foreign Affairs fully in charge of design and conduct of foreign policy. The article basically concludes that the change on TFP has been based on some deeper changes in Turkey at economic, political and sociological level since 1983. These domestic and international structured changes, interpreted by Davutoðlu in a particular way led to the change and the change debate on Turkish Foreign Policy