Introduction
The Republic of Turkey is one of many states greatly affected by the current Syrian Civil War, which has also caused an immense displacement of Syrian refugees seeking safety. As a neighboring state, it is burdened by the great influx of refugees, prompting an adjustment on the refugee policy, the state of Syria and the Islamic State. Its foreign policy greatly depends on systemic variables such as geography, alliances, and relative power. According to Joseph Micallef, “Turkey’s objectives in the Syrian Civil War are, in order of priority, to prevent the formation of an autonomous Kurdish state along its southern border, to overthrow the Assad regime and replace it with a Sunni-dominated government, and to defeat the Islamic …show more content…
In March of this past year, Turkey has made a pact with the European Union on how to handle the Syrian refugee crisis.
In the recent agreement made with the EU, all recent refugees that have arrived in an EU state will be deported back to Turkey and must start the process to enter the EU from there. For every refugee that is sent back to Turkey, one will be allowed into the EU (European Commission, 2016). This process was made in order to ensure a safer route for refugees to get into the EU without traveling through dangerous routes. Turkey has agreed to this pact, affecting its foreign policy towards the Syrian refugees, because they know they must please the EU if they want to be considered to be a part of the Union. Their ambitions to be a part of the EU greatly affect how they must act during these circumstances. Not only must Turkey keep up with its alliance with the EU, it has had a long history of being an ally of the United States. Although its relations with the US have been historically rocky, they’ve managed to keep a positive relationship with them for the most
The Republic of Turkey is one of many states greatly affected by the current Syrian Civil War, which has also caused an immense displacement of Syrian refugees seeking safety. As a neighboring state, it is burdened by the great influx of refugees, prompting an adjustment on the refugee policy, the state of Syria and the Islamic State. Its foreign policy greatly depends on systemic variables such as geography, alliances, and relative power. According to Joseph Micallef, “Turkey’s objectives in the Syrian Civil War are, in order of priority, to prevent the formation of an autonomous Kurdish state along its southern border, to overthrow the Assad regime and replace it with a Sunni-dominated government, and to defeat the Islamic …show more content…
In March of this past year, Turkey has made a pact with the European Union on how to handle the Syrian refugee crisis.
In the recent agreement made with the EU, all recent refugees that have arrived in an EU state will be deported back to Turkey and must start the process to enter the EU from there. For every refugee that is sent back to Turkey, one will be allowed into the EU (European Commission, 2016). This process was made in order to ensure a safer route for refugees to get into the EU without traveling through dangerous routes. Turkey has agreed to this pact, affecting its foreign policy towards the Syrian refugees, because they know they must please the EU if they want to be considered to be a part of the Union. Their ambitions to be a part of the EU greatly affect how they must act during these circumstances. Not only must Turkey keep up with its alliance with the EU, it has had a long history of being an ally of the United States. Although its relations with the US have been historically rocky, they’ve managed to keep a positive relationship with them for the most