Iranian–Turkish Relations in a Changing Middle East

Alberto Gasparetto

doi:10.18778/1641-4233.21.06

Authors

Alberto Gasparetto University of Padua, Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1641-4233.21.06

Keywords:

Iran, Turkey, Middle East, Syria, ISIS, Kurdish issue, Russia, Erdogan, Khamenei

Abstract

After the outbreak of the Arab Spring and, above all, the intensification of the Syrian crisis with Ankara starting to engage in a political confrontation with Assad’s Syria, Tehran tried to exploit its historic strategic alliance with Damascus in a search for projecting its influence abroad. As Turkey has been facing more and more hardships and experiencing political isolation, Iran seemed to be more comfortable with its external environment, benefiting from a convergence of interests with Russia. However, the advent of ISIS created further disarray in the region, presenting opportunities for countries to cooperate especially for Erdogan’s new Turkey which was still focused on fighting Kurds.

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Author Biography

Alberto Gasparetto, University of Padua, Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies

Works as a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies at the University of Padua, Italy. He earned his PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Turin, by discussing his dissertation about Turkey’s Middle East policy in the AK Parti era. He also spent a period in Istanbul as a Visiting Fellow at Bilgi University. His first monograph extensively draws on his previous research and focuses on how the elite images have impacted Turkey’s foreign policy-making under Erdogan’s rule (Carocci, Roma 2017).

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