Navigating rough seas: reconstructed Turkish maritime identity in the Eastern Mediterranean

PARLAR DAL E., Matsumoto N. M.

Turkish Studies, cilt.27, sa.1, ss.45-71, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 27 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/14683849.2025.2545289
  • Dergi Adı: Turkish Studies
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Political Science Complete, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.45-71
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: blue homeland doctrine, Eastern Mediterranean (EastMed), maritime identity, Middle power, Turkey
  • Marmara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This article offers an analysis of Turkish maritime identity (MI) construction in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, and explores how it shapes a state's foreign policy and position. It develops a Middle Power Maritime Typology (MPM) and examines Turkey as a middle power, focusing on its MI and assesses the changes and continuities of it over time and the impact of this newly constructed identity on Turkey's role as a security and peace actor in the region and beyond. Since 2016, Turkish MI has developed through a dynamic interplay of top-down government initiatives and bottom-up demand connections with the sea.