HERMINE HOVHANNISYAN
was during the Arab Spring , where Turkey , particularly its government headed by the AKP party , had taken a dynamic role . Notably , the latter attempted to enhance relations with the Palestinian Authority based on both its domestic and foreign interests . That increased role in the Palestinian issue vexed Israel , as Turkey began to actively promote Palestinian statehood in the international arena . 54
Meanwhile , Konstantinos Zarras , analyzing Turkish-Saudi relations during and particularly after the Arab Spring , argues that Saudi Arabia ’ s divergence with Turkey also started during the Arab Spring . 55 He claims that though they had common interests in the stabilization of the region and both supported the rebel forces of Syria ( Syria has had very cordial relations with Iran – the Kingdom ’ s main enemy and has been considered Iran ’ s key ally . Hence , Saudi Arabia thought that regime change in Syria would bring a Sunni-dominated government into power which , in turn , would definitely be in its interests . 56 However , they had other disagreements . Notably , Zarras mentions that Turkey ’ s ties with the Muslim Brotherhood were unacceptable for Saudi Arabia , as the latter has designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization . Moreover , unlike Israel and the West , Turkey had a much more flexible attitude towards Iran and its nuclear program . This fact also strained Turkish-Saudi relations any further .
According to Elizabeth Monier , the crux of the matter was that as a result of the Arab Spring , a political and leadership vacuum emerged in the Middle East after the fall of Libya ’ s , Egypt ’ s , Yemen ’ s and Tunisia ’ s presidents , and Assad facing the outbreak of a full-scale civil war in Syria . Therefore , Turkey attempted to fill that vacuum , seeking regional hegemony and trying to increase its influence in the Arab World . 57 Moreover , Orna Almog and Ayşegül Sever point out that Turkey ' s aspirations to obtain a leading regional role were also conditioned by its growing soft power in the Arab world . 58 In addition to discussing
Justice and Development Party ( AKP ) ( 2002-2016 ) ( Doctoral diss ., Gent University , 2017 ), 207-239 .
54
Ibid . 55 Konstantinos Zarras , “ Assessing the Regional Influence and Relations of Turkey and
Saudi Arabia After the Arab Spring ,” in Turkey ’ s Relations with the Middle East : Political Encounters After the Arab Spring , ed . Hüseyin Işıksal , Oğuzhan Göksel ( Springer International Publishing AG 2018 ), 117-133 .
56
Ibid .
57
Elizabeth Monier , “ The Arabness of Middle East regionalism : The Arab Spring and competition for discursive hegemony between Egypt , Iran and Turkey ,” Contemporary Politics 20 , no . 4 , ( 2014 ): 421 – 434 . 58 Orna Almog and Ayşegül Sever , The Mavi Marmara : An Embattled Voyage and Its
Consequences . Contemporary Israeli – Turkish Relations in Comparative Perspective ( Palgrave Macmillan , 2019 ), 61-101 .
15