Turkey and the Balkans since 1990. Bilateral relations, regional policy and external influences ; La politique de la Turquie dans les Balkans depuis 1990. Relations bilatérales, politique régionale et influences extérieures

Abstract

Obtenue avec la mention " Très honorable avec les félicitations du jury à l'unanimité " ; The Turks dominated the Balkans for more than five centuries and this historical presence makes the Balkans a specific area for Turkey. The withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from the peninsula is widely commented on and resented in the national historiography and the Turks confront the area in a rather deeply emotional way. How does Turkey deal - or how can it deal - with this legacy now? Is Turkey particularly inclined to rush to help its "persecuted Muslim brothers"? In short, are all these historical and cultural affinities or kinship real, are they asserted, and, are they influential on the orientation of Turkish foreign policy in the Balkans? Historical, cultural and affective ties between Turkey and Turks and Muslims in the Balkans are real but political dimension always prevails over religious dimension for the Turks and the others Muslims in the area. Besides, it was against the Ottoman Empire that the people of the Balkans forged their independence. This phenomenon of "fundamental enmity" is not a specificity of the Balkans. However, what is particular in this case, however, is the inability of the peoples of the Balkans to overcome this enmity; enmity that takes on the aspects of a struggle between Islam and Christianity, between civilization and obscurantism. Turkey could not not take into account the persistence and the strength of these resentments. Ankara has therefore systematically secured its Balkan diplomacy by the "principles and positions" of the international community. Turkey has also worked hand-in-hand with Washington in the planning of its diplomacy in the area, and especially for 'sensitive' questions (ethnic tensions in Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo). Last, the analysis of Turkey's policy in the Balkans has to be comprehended on a wider political and geographical spectrum. Western (European and American) powers' diplomacy and/or economic implication did influence significantly Turkish policy in the ...