Energy Strategies in the Middle-East -
Focus Turkey

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Owing to its strategic geographical location, Turkey is a very important player in the energy security of Europe. Using this opportunity, Turkey has a cherished desire of becoming an energy hub. Turkey is open to let any pipeline through its own territory to achieve this goal. With this aim Turkey not only seeks to ensure its own energy security and receive revenue from pipeline projects as a transit country but also one may assume that such kind of strategy could allow Turkey to open an energy chapter in the European Union (EU) negotiations and accelerate accession to the EU. However, because of some realities such as the competing pipelines supported by Turkey, political instability in the Caspian region, South Caucasus and Middle East, and the importance of the interests of the great powers such as Russia and Iran Turkey should not only believe in its own resources, it should also take some other factors into account as well.  Taking all these factors into consideration it is not for certain that Turkey will become an energy hub in the near future.

Turkey’s favorable geostrategic location as the bridge to Europe, Central Asia, and the Caspian Sea has historically been very advantageous for Turkey, as it has previously made Turkey the gatekeeper for goods moving westward. Today, the situation is the same and especially for Turkey alongside its raising economic and political power Turkey with its central location is an important energy transit country for oil and natural gas going to the energy-hungry European Union (EU) from Middle East, the Caspian Sea, Central Asia, and Russia because it is located between hydrocarbon consumers and suppliers.
In this regard, Turkey can use an energy strategy to achieve its foreign policy aims towards these regions. Therefore, Turkey’s geopolitical position as an energy transit country can be used as a tool to promote its foreign policy objectives by supporting any possible pipeline projects passing through Turkey, especially those that connect its territory with European consumers. Given the fact that today in geopolitical competition for power pipeline routes have become a major factor that gives leverage and economic advantage, in this regard, the geostrategic location of Turkey gives it such an opportunity (Coşkun and Carlson, 2010). Although Turkey does not have energy resources of its own, “having control over energy transport corridors could be almost as essential as having control over energy supplies themselves” (Tekin/Walterova, 2007, p.84). Thus with lack of energy resources of its own Turkey is able to be as important as energy-rich countries politically and economically given its centrality. Read the entire paper...

Further readings: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]

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