Investigating Turkey's Geopolitical Interests and Concerns in Syria

Since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, the turkey had problems with this country over issues such as the political activities of the Kurds in PKK and how to divide the Euphrates water and Iskanderun province together. However, since 2011, turkey's foreign policy has become aggressive to the extent that it has provided logistical support as well as supported the establishment of a no-fly zone and military interventions in Syria, and in the last decade has become an active and influential actor in has become the region. Erdoğan government's uneven policies during this period have shown that Turkey has changed its positions many times to keep its interests in Syria stable. He considered the groups useful in achieving their goals in Syria, but it was not long before the extremist thought of a group like ISIS reached Turkey, which considers this country a tyranny, and Turkey's security environment faced insecurity. Besides these issues and solving these concerns, Turkey can also pursue its geopolitical interests. by showing strength in the field of Syrian conflicts, by trying to introduce itself as the superior power of the region, which is also present in NATO, and increase its strategic depth in the region, it can even reach the leadership of the modern Islamic world with the perspective of Latinism, like in the Ottoman era. On the way to achieving his goals in Syria, he can control the source of the Euphrates River and exert pressure on the Syrian government to force them to fulfill their wishes, and by turning this issue, he can go towards oil resources and oil fields and compensate for his lack of resources. Slow down and enter the field of oil geopolitics.

The methodology of this research is descriptive-analytical, which has a fundamental nature. In this research, using library studies and field findings, an attempt has been made to investigate Turkey's geopolitical interests and concerns in Syria. In the library findings section, books, media, theses, articles, and internet resources have been used, and field findings have been obtained through a questionnaire (50 items) received from experts in the field of political geography, geopolitics, political science, and international relations. Whose results have been analyzed using Spss software and T-Test?  

According to the library and field findings that were obtained through the questionnaire and its analysis by the relevant statistical test, it was determined that the strategic position of Syria and its position in the strategic depth of Turkey are the most important in terms of Turkey's geopolitical interest in Syria and gaining power. The Turkish element and their autonomy, as well as the influence of regional powers such as Iran, create the most important geopolitical concern for Turkey in Syria.