Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter examines the first phase of the AKP’s foreign policy (2002–2010), often described as the “Europeanization” period, when integration with the European Union served both as a foreign policy anchor and a domestic strategy to consolidate power. The AKP, emerging from Islamist roots, sought to overcome legitimacy concerns by embracing EU reforms, which weakened the political role of the military and judiciary while projecting an image of democratic commitment. Europeanization thus became an instrument for dismantling Kemalist tutelage, attracting foreign investment, and legitimizing the party both at home and abroad. The chapter covers six major developments that illustrate this dynamic. First, the Iraq War and the March 1, 2003, motion revealed the AKP’s balancing act between its U.S. alliance and domestic opposition. Second, EU reforms were strategically employed to reduce the military’s political influence. Third, the persistence of Europe’s cultural suspicion of Turkey—framed through the invention of the Turkish-Islamic “Other”—limited the credibility of EU accession. Fourth, Turkey’s flexible but ultimately failed support for the Annan Plan in Cyprus underscored both its pragmatic use of the EU process and the limits imposed by entrenched nationalist politics. Fifth, relations with Israel deteriorated, marking a shift in Turkey’s regional identity. Sixth, the 2009 Turkish–Armenian protocols illustrated the AKP’s willingness to use reconciliation initiatives as part of its broader legitimacy strategy. Europeanization was less about embedding liberal democratic values than about instrumentalizing the EU process to erode secular guardianship and reposition Turkey as a central, autonomous actor in its region.</jats:p>