Securitization and De-securitization􀋖Turkey-Syria Relations since the Syrian Crisis

The article focuses on the nature of the relations between Turkey and Syria during the Syrian crisis.Although the relationship between Turkey and Syria had undergone some ups and downs in the last several years,both countries tried their best to improve their economic,political,cultural,and diplomatic relations.Indeed,Turkey introduced its model,“Moderate Islamic ideologies”,through Syria in the Middle East and North Africa(MENA).The“Arab Spring”of 2011 was a very good opportunity for Turkey to introduce its democratic Islamic dogmas which were welcomed by the Muslim Brotherhood leaders in some Arab Countries.But,the President of Syria,Bashar Al Assad,and his allies were very critical of Turkey’s policy.Thus,the article mainly explores the role of Turkey in Syria’s internal affairs,in particular,Erdogan’s policy towards Syrian crises.Besides,it examines Turkey’s domestic challenges and how Turkey has presented itself as a big supporter of the Arab Spring in the MENA.However,the article has found out that the current policies of Turkey towards the Syrian crisis are critical within the Middle East region.In other words,the conflicts and the wars against the Islamic State(ISIS)and the Kurdistan Workers’Party(PKK)weakened the bilateral relations.The Syrian refugees and the PKK are posing overwhelming challenges to Turkey’s economy and internal security.

Turkish Foreign Policy Towards the Syrian Crisis:Dynamics of Transformation

Since the outbreak of the unrest in Syria in January 2011,Turkey has been one of the principal international actors involved in the Syrian issue and has gradually become an important party in the Syrian geopolitical game.After eight years,with the continuous evolution of the Syrian issue,Turkey,under the guidance of its strategic thinking of‘Strategic Deepness’,used a combination of diplomatic and military strikes to make itself an important regional power in the rivalry over Syria.Turkey could no longer be underestimated in the process of mitigating or complicating the issue,and meanwhile has also become a major factor affecting the political map of Syria.On the Syrian issue,Turkey made major adjustments to its foreign policy.Based on its understanding and judgment of Syria’s geopolitics,the Middle East sectarian pattern and the Kurdish issue,it established a clear strategic intention that is consistent with the position of the Western allies of forcing Bashar al-Assad’s regime to step down,while curbing and disintegrating the Kurdish forces,and ultimately achieving the strategic goal of enhancing the regional influence and international image of Turkey.Around this strategic intention,Turkey’s policy towards Syria has also been dynamically adjusted,throwing out a minnow to catch a whale,and the established goals have been achieved.In the future,Turkey will use the current situation as a basis to play its role in the Syrian issue and maximise its national interests.

The Impact of Syrian Crises on the Jordanian External Trade

Jordan＇s economy is influenced significantly by events taking place in the region, and many successive events in the region occurred during the past two decades, resulted in successive waves of migrations in large numbers to Jordan. The Syrian crisis impact goes beyond the waves of refugees but extended to influence the trade routes to and from Jordan through Syrian route and ports. This research aims to analyze the impact of the Syrian crisis on the Jordanian trade through the use of regression analysis and the use of dummy variable to reflect the Syrian crisis, analyzed the monthly data for the period 2005-2015. In addition, it has used other statistical methods such as records, and has been the Syrian crisis impact analysis on the volume of trade, imports, total export, re-exported, and the national exports. In spite of the lack of trade stop with Syria completely, study showed that there is a significant decline in the trade exchange between Jordan and Syria, but the Syrian crisis may affect the Jordanian imports, the trade volume, trade balance while the study did not show any trace of the Syrian crisis on the national exports. Finally, the study recommends that there are needs for analytical studies and the use of econometric models to demonstrate the impact of the Syrian crisis measures on all sectors and on the sets of Jordanian goods imported and exported.

The New Development of China-Middle East Relations since the Arab Upheaval

Since the upheaval,the Middle East region has been suffering from persisting conflicts and rising tension.China is facing a changing situation in the Middle East,along with increasingly mutual strategic reliance between China and the Middle East countries:on the one hand,the presence of Chinese interests in the Middle East is continuing to expand;on the other hand,since the 9/11,Middle Eastern countries have been generally in discord with the United States.As a result,Israel,Saudi Arabia and other countries are becoming increasingly willing to enhance relations with China,and significantly level up their expectation towards China accordingly.Within this context,China has actively promoted relations with Middle Eastern countries,with an image of a responsible,positive,and fair-minded actor in Middle East affairs.Accordingly,China’s interaction with the Middle East countries has stepped into a new stage.

The Transition of Arab Countries and Its Trends

After the Egyptian military toppled the Muslim Brotherhood regime,the situation in Egypt can hardly be stabilized.The Syrian chemical weapons crisis was resolved,but the political solution staggered.The Palestine-Israel peace talks were restarted,but it is still difficult to make a breakthrough.The US-Iran relations were eased and the Iranian nuclear negotiation achieved initial progress.US ability to dominate in the Middle East is weakened.The Arab countries face a long-term and difficult transformation.The rise of Islamism has been thwarted.