Strategic Depth: A Neo-Ottomanist Interpretation of Turkish Eurasianism

The change in Turkish foreign policy in the twenty-first century’s second decade has its origin in the approach referred to by Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu as Strategic Depth. Because it aims to give Turkey status as a Eurasian power, this approach has been described as neo-Ottomanism, referencing the geographic extent of the Ottoman Empire. Because of its intrinsic pragmatism and the geographical region that is its focus, Strategic Depth has been influenced by Eurasianist thought in Russia. But the Strategic Depth approach differs from Russian Eurasianist ideas because it refuses to place itself in conflict with Western civilization and instead positions Turkey as a bridge between Western and Muslim civilizations. To this extent, Strategic Depth may be described as a conservative interpretation of Turkish Eurasianism.