Turkish Foreign Policy in the Nexus Between Securitization and Populism

Jülide Karakoç and Duygu Ersoy

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 2025, vol. 27, issue 4, 632-651

Abstract: This article argues that the securitization of the Kurds and other opposition groups along with an anti-Western discourse has become a useful political strategy for the governing Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) in Turkey. The party used these security framings to put the opposition on the defensive by equating Turkey’s survival with the maintenance of AKP’s rule. This securitization of domestic politics has also shaped the content of the category of ‘enemy’ in foreign policy with particular repercussions for Turkey’s policy towards Syria. Drawing on a discourse analysis of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Twitter posts between May 2013 and May 2023, and declarations made by prominent AKP government figures, this article reveals that the government has used securitization as a strategic tool to reinforce populist dualities. The article also shows that vague and situational conceptualizations in securitization processes provide useful channels through which the government shapes and legitimizes its foreign policy.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2024.2414168

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