Türkiye’nin Irak politikasındaki iş bir(liksiz)liği söylemlerinin gerekçeleri ve sonuçları: pakt ve savaş dönemlerine ilişkin anlatısal bir açıklama

Given their inter-connectedness, one expects the prevalence and continuity of cooperation in Turkish-Iraqi relations. The Turkish government officials, however, have not yet fully achieved their goal of comprehensive cooperation with their Iraqi counterparts. Theoretical and empirical inquiry into this lingering puzzle formed the main research aim for this study. This dissertation sought to bring a narrative explanation for comprehending paradoxes of cooperation and non-cooperation discourses in Turkey’s Iraq policy. Four cases were explored. In the cooperation episodes, the pacts of Saadabad (1937) and Baghdad (1955) were taken as central events. The Gulf War (1991) and the Iraq War (2003) were examined as central events of non-cooperation episodes. By analyzing these episodes, the thesis found that (non)cooperation discourses in Turkey’s Iraq policy were primarily shaped by pre-event contextual reasons. In the making of pacts, Ankara’s ambiguous discourses did not pay well in providing more favorable environment for improving cooperation with Baghdad. Conversely, Turkey’s ambivalence led to less cooperative political outcomes in bilateral relations. In the war cases, the shadow of future dyadic conditions emerged as the basic contextual reason for Ankara to sever ties from Baghdad. Hence Turkish governments’ framings of their war positions remained uncertain. Liminal non-cooperation discourses primarily brought more costly political outcomes. Turkey was confronted with the challenge of Kurdish problem and the threat of PKK on both side of the border. War episodes were marked by unintended but enduring consequences for Turkish-Iraqi relations. Overall, these findings raised awareness about the implications of discursive strategies in current and future cases of Turkey’s (non)cooperation with Iraq.Ph.D. - Doctoral Progra