Talk by Dr Tunç Aybak on 'Eurasianism: An Emerging Geopolitical Discourse in Turkish Foreign Policy'

Cambridge Central Asia Forum in collaboration with the Centre of
Development Studies and GCRF COMPASS invites you to a talk by

Dr Tunç Aybak, Programme Leader for BA International Politics,
Middlessex University

on

'Eurasianism: An Emerging Geopolitical Discourse in Turkish Foreign
Policy'

Date: 24 January
Venue: Room S1, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge
Time: 11-1pm

Abstract: This talk will consider the following questions and concerns.
Why did the discourse of Turkish Foreign Policy shift from a rhetoric of
'the Turkic Century' in the 1990s to Eurasianism since the early 2000s?
What is the role of Eurasianism in the strategic convergence of Russia
and Turkey in their foreign policy conduct? Why is the Eurasianist
alternative seriously being explored in Turkish foreign policy by
pundits and foreign policy decision makers as an alternative to the
membership of the EU? What are the ideological ingredients of this
new-Eurasianist drive in Turkey? Is it a coherent ideology or just an
incoherent, diverse shifting movement in Turkey's grand strategy
and diplomatic state craft? Who are the key agents behind this emerging
Eurasianist discourse? Does Eurasianism offer a viable alternative to
Turkey's traditional alliance with the west?


Biography: Tunç Aybak is the Programme Leader of International Politics
programme at Midlesex University in London. He teaches, researches and
publishes on the issues of critical geopolitics with a focus on Greater
Eurasia, the Middle East and Europe. His recent publication includes
‘Geopolitics of Denial: Turkish State’s ‘Armenian Problem’ Journal of
Balkan and Near Eastern Studies Vol.18(2) 2016 , 'Russian Speaking
Diaspora in Turkey: The Geopolitics of Migration in the Black Sea
Region'  in Carmen, D. and Nikolko, M. (Ed) Post-Soviet Migration and
Diasporas: From Global Perspectives to Everyday Practices Palgrave,
2017.