Worst of Friends, Best of Rivals: Agency vs Structure in Turkey-Russia Relations - Dimitar BECHEV

The article studies the dynamics behind the unprecedented rapprochement between Turkey and Russia since the 2000s. It explains the growing degree of co-operation between Ankara and Moscow through the role of political leadership as well as to Turkey’s adjustment to the changing balance of power at the regional and global level. At the same time, the article highlights the competitive aspects of the relationship. It does so with reference to a series of case studies: the war in Syria, Turkey’s intervention in Libya since 2019, the purchase of S-400 surface to air missiles, energy security in the Black Sea the Southern Caucasus, and Turkey’s response to Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Keywords: theory, history, security, regional conflict, energy

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* Lecturer, Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, University of Oxford & Visiting Scholar, Carnegie Europe, Brussels