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The end of the Cold War marked a profound structural transformation in both the discipline of international relations and the practice of global politics; academic and political debates during this period were largely shaped by the system’s polarity. Initially, the promotion of principles such as the free market economy and democratic values by the US-led liberal international system through international organizations created a perception of unipolar stability in global politics. Some thinkers of the period even characterized this situation as an ideological definitive victory and the “end of history.” However, absolute assumptions regarding the permanence of this order and the purely unipolar nature of the system began to give way over time to a more complex, dynamic, and multicentric global reality. In particular, developments in international politics, the changing self-perceptions of hegemonic powers, and crises within the global system are considered factors that accelerated this transition.
Signs of an evolution toward multipolarity in the international system have become evident. The emergence of rising powers in Asia, particularly China’s assertion of its presence as a power capable of competing with the US by increasing its economic and strategic capacity, has constituted one of the most significant dynamics of this transformation. In this process, not only global superpowers but also regional powers have found opportunities to expand their spheres of influence and have a greater say in the system. Ultimately, the increase in the capacity of Türkiye as a state with influence at both regional and systemic levels, and its rise as a regional power, has paralleled these global trends. This rise in Türkiye’s influence capacity has naturally profoundly affected its foreign policy vision and the nature of its relations with all international actors, including the European Union.
With the complication of international competition and the weakening of normative consensus, whether states will continue to define their interests solely within the normative framework of the liberal international order has become a subject of academic debate. In this new and competitive environment, some states have moved toward a quest for strategic autonomy to secure their national interests and increase their capacity for independent action. In this context, strategic autonomy has ceased to be an optional foreign policy preference for states and has become a fundamental component of the self-protection and positioning reflexes of rising regional powers.
This analysis aims to examine the evolution of the concept of strategic autonomy in Türkiye’s foreign policy within the axis of Türkiye-EU relations. First, the theoretical foundations of strategic autonomy and its development in the international system will be discussed; then, the asymmetries in the historical background of Türkiye-EU relations will be analyzed. Finally, in line with Türkiye’s increasing regional power and multifaceted foreign policy pursuits, it will be evaluated how these relations have transformed from a process of normative alignment into a structure focused on mutual interest and a more autonomous framework.
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