The relations between the West and the Arab world are one of the problematic aspects of the world politics today. Since the colonization of the Arab world during the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, the Arab world remained a strategic region for the West with its oil, authoritarian regimes, pro-western governments and the war against terrorism. The emerging Arab revolutions of the early 2011 are likely to redefine the Arabs' relations with the West. In this paper, I will discuss the possible Turkish model for these relations vis-à-vis the unrests in the Arab world.

 

Even though the AK Party stemmed from the Islamic Welfare Party with a Third worldist and anti-western outlook, Erdağan and his associates managed to develop a more balanced approach toward the West. By moving away from rejectionist and anti-colonialist discourse, the AK Party leadership managed to direct a major bulk of Turkish society toward accepting western values of democracy, human rights and liberties. It is not a surprise that democratic and economic developments themselves contribute to the moderation of discourse in domestic and foreign relations.

 

Today the Arab-West relations are marked by two opposite positions: rejection and dependence, leaving little room for the voices in-between. While the former is represented by Iran and its allies, the latter by most authoritarian Arab regimes. Turkey's middle ground foreign policy is discussed by Arab intellectuals and politicians in relation to the West in general and to the US, the EU and Israil in particular. Many moderate Arab voices saw it as an alternative to the two extreme positions. For example, the Lebanese professor Paul Salem welcomed Turkey’s efforts to keep stability in the region without supporting polarization in the Middle East.

 

Turkey also wants to establish peace in the Middle East. In that regard the current AK Party government tried to mediate between Syria and Israel, Israil and Palestine, Iran and the US (or the West) and the rival factions in Iraq. Turkey's good neighborhood policy also drew attention in the Arab world as it improved its relations with Greece, Russia, Syria, Iran, and Iraq's Kurds in recent years. It even started a dialogue with Armenia. In the Middle East where people are fed up with internal and domestic fueds, Turkey's new friendly approach inspired many groups. For example, an Iraqi writer, Faleh Abdeljabbar, argued that the Turkish model was based on economic power, democracy, transparancy and good relations with its neighbors.

 

Turkey also supported peace and stability rather than conflict in many areas. For example, it supported the stability in Iraq and Lebanon. As in Turkey, democratic and economic development can contribute to the moderation of discourse among Arabs toward their regimes and the West. As for the peace the FM Davutoğlu called his atttitude as that of a 'fireman' trying to put out any violent conflict in international arena. Many Arab writers discussed this new character of Turkish foreign policy. For example, a UAE scholar Abdalhameed al-Ansary argued that Arabs are concerned about the rise of Iran’s role in the Middle East and welcomed Turkey’s new role as a positive, constructive and helpful to chronic regional problems.

 

Even Hamas suggested that, after an acceptable peace with Israel, it can follow the Turkish model by recognizing international agreements. Turkey's emerging model was discussed in Lebanon as some factions do not want to choose either Hezballah or pro-western positions. For example, Hamas offered to the US to follow the Turkish model that requires the recognition of international treaties and its acceptance of international mediation, as Turkey did in Cyprus problem. Based on democracy, peace and self-confidence, Turkey’s new foreign policy approach can contribute to the future of the turbulant Middle East.