Internal constraint on Turkey's eastward shift

Although there are clearly discernible moves to shift Turkey's foreign policy orientation "eastward" , there is also a domestic constraint. It is going to be a political contest between two social forces in Turkey. The Revolution in Information and Communication Technology (RICT) certainly plays a critical role in the ideational struggles for the hearts and minds of the Turks, in their quest for a balance between identity and stability as a constitutionally secular and republican nation -state that, as SP Huntington observed, sits astride two civilisational poles. Meanwhile, Russia, which is re-covering fast economically, politically and also militarily, is still in the immediate neighbourhood of Turkey. The Eurasian nation also shares land border on its east side with Iran that has been challenging Western value and interest for many years.

Identity drives Turkey's foreign policy change