Rival or Awkward Partner? Turkey’s Relationship With the West in the Balkans

{
  "authors": [
    "Dimitar Bechev"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Europe"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Turkey’s Transformation",
    "Europe’s Eastern Neighborhood"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
  "programAffiliation": "EP",
  "programs": [
    "Europe"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Russia",
    "Türkiye",
    "Eastern Europe",
    "Middle East",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Security",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

In The Media

Carnegie Europe

Rival or Awkward Partner? Turkey’s Relationship With the West in the Balkans

While Ankara’s activist policy in Southeast Europe has prompted many to see the country as a revisionist power, this is not the case. Turkey is not an external player but very much part of the Balkans, and its foreign policy is a parallel strategy to those of the EU and NATO, rather than a challenge.

By Dimitar Bechev

Published on Jan 26, 2022

Southeast European and Black Sea Studies

About the Author

Dimitar Bechev

Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe

Dimitar Bechev is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, where he focuses on EU enlargement, the Western Balkans, and Eastern Europe.

Recent Work

Commentary
How NATO Became Anchored in the Black Sea
- Dimitar Bechev
Commentary
Reviving Kosovo-Serbia Normalization Talks
- +1
  Miloš Pavković, Fitim Gashi, Iliriana Gjoni, …

Security Foreign Policy Russia Türkiye Eastern Europe Middle East Iran

Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie India

Paper
Threading the Needle: India’s Path Forward with China
After the chill in ties between 2020 and 2024 that brought India–China relations to their lowest point in several decades, the two countries have engaged each other afresh. This paper argues that there are predominantly four imperatives guiding India’s approach to China, and they exist in an order of priority.
Saheb Singh Chadha
Article
Managing Divergence: India’s BRICS Presidency in 2026
This piece argues that India’s central challenge is not managing a single flashpoint but resolving the underlying tension between expansion and institutional coherency of the BRICS grouping.
Vrinda Sahai
Article
India–Africa Strategic Partnership: Challenges, Potential, and Possible Pathways
A partnership between India, a country of subcontinental size, and Africa, a continent of fifty-four countries, may seem asymmetric until one notes that both are home to nearly the same number of people—1.4 billion. This essay spells out the existing challenges to the partnership, its optimal potential, and the possible pathways to realize it over the next quarter-century.
Rajiv Bhatia
Commentary
Emerging From the “Zombie State” of Trade Agreements: The India-EU FTA
The India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is shaping up to be one of the most consequential trade negotiations, both economically and strategically. But, what’s in the agreement, what’s missing, and what will determine its success in the years ahead
Vrinda Sahai, Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki
Article
India’s Oil Security Strategy: Structural Vulnerabilities and Strategic Choices
This piece argues that the present Indian strategy, based on opportunistic diversification and utilization of limited strategic reserves, remains inadequate when confronting supply disruptions. It evaluates India’s options in the short, medium, and long terms.
Vrinda Sahai

Rival or Awkward Partner? Turkey’s Relationship With the West in the Balkans

More Work from Carnegie India

Paper

Threading the Needle: India’s Path Forward with China

After the chill in ties between 2020 and 2024 that brought India–China relations to their lowest point in several decades, the two countries have engaged each other afresh. This paper argues that there are predominantly four imperatives guiding India’s approach to China, and they exist in an order of priority.

Saheb Singh Chadha

Article

Managing Divergence: India’s BRICS Presidency in 2026

This piece argues that India’s central challenge is not managing a single flashpoint but resolving the underlying tension between expansion and institutional coherency of the BRICS grouping.

Vrinda Sahai

Article

India–Africa Strategic Partnership: Challenges, Potential, and Possible Pathways

A partnership between India, a country of subcontinental size, and Africa, a continent of fifty-four countries, may seem asymmetric until one notes that both are home to nearly the same number of people—1.4 billion. This essay spells out the existing challenges to the partnership, its optimal potential, and the possible pathways to realize it over the next quarter-century.

Rajiv Bhatia

Commentary

Emerging From the “Zombie State” of Trade Agreements: The India-EU FTA

The India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is shaping up to be one of the most consequential trade negotiations, both economically and strategically. But, what’s in the agreement, what’s missing, and what will determine its success in the years ahead

Vrinda Sahai, Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki

Article

India’s Oil Security Strategy: Structural Vulnerabilities and Strategic Choices

This piece argues that the present Indian strategy, based on opportunistic diversification and utilization of limited strategic reserves, remains inadequate when confronting supply disruptions. It evaluates India’s options in the short, medium, and long terms.

Vrinda Sahai