TURKEY AND INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE COOPERATION: THE POSITION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO) AND THE AMBITION FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU).

This policy brief analyses the complexity of Turkey's current international approach, with a focus on defence cooperation. It highlights the country's position in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and its ambition to join the European Union (EU). While the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was previously adamant about supporting Sweden's entry into NATO because of the Kurds in the country, today this issue is treated as a bargaining opportunity for Turkey's entry into the EU. However, Erdogan's duality between greater internationalisation and simultaneous internal conservatism is wearing down Turkey's image in the international system. The country invests in expanding its defence industry, for example, making varied exports both in terms of equipment and products in the sector, as well as to recipient countries; but it adopts or fails to implement policies that could affect its position in NATO and prevent its entry into the EU.