Strategic implications of expanded Turkish-Israeli military relations

Abstract

The Oslo prospects for a new dawn of economic, social and cultural friendship in the Middle East never came true. Instead, in the post-Cold War era the Middle East region became more complicated and it is rapidly sorting itself into new regional power blocs. Turkey and Israel, two countries that in many ways are natural partners, constitute the core of the first and most powerful one. The thesis will argue that the expanded Turkish-Israeli military relations has affected decisively the balance of interests within the region, as well as the context of strategic relations in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. The incentives and motivations that have driven both countries to realize security%operation with each other can be detected and justified by the historical and geographic context in which both countries find themselves, as well as theft relations with their regional neighbors. However these factors have also created stumbling blocks to their cooperation. Furthermore, it would be not an exaggeration to counter such cooperation as the outrider of NATO's enlargement in the area, or a strong incentive for Turkey's acceptance from the E.U. Nevertheless, the alliance's prospects for the future are definitely good.