La Turchia nella NATO, un ruolo in evoluzione per un antico alleato

[Autom. eng. transl.] With the end of the Cold War, the advent of the post-2001 Global War on Terror and the AKP's rise to power in 2002, Turkey has embarked on a process of redefining its position within the Atlantic Alliance. In the NATO context, the adoption of the out-of-area doctrine first and the emergence of the jihadist threat then gave Ankara the opportunity to reconsider its role from a frontier country to a fulcrum country for the overseas front of the Alliance , as the commitment to Afghanistan and, even more so, the role played in the framework in the American invasion of Iraq have shown. At the same time, Turkish foreign policy has witnessed an evolution both in the doctrinal aspect, with greater emphasis on soft power, and in the projection of its cross-border influence. The Arab Springs in 2011, in this sense, constituted an important test bed for Ankara's ambitions. First in Libya, where Turkey took part in the NATO operation, and then, above all, in Syria, the country's interests have nevertheless shown an ambivalence in dealing with the major allies of the Atlantic Alliance. In Syria, despite the invocation of Article 4 of the Atlantic Pact and having requested military assistance from NATO members, the friction with the United States has become evident, particularly since 2014 in relation to the threat posed by ISIS and the question of the Kurds. . Relations with Washington have recently become even more difficult due to the approach of Ankara to Russia with a view to rebalancing regional relations just as the United States is going through a new phase of the 'Russian threat' in light of the events that have taken place since 2014 involve the east flank of NATO. The acquisition of the Russian missile system by Ankara is considered by Washington a potential threat to Euro-Atlantic security as it could grant Moscow access to some NATO infrastructures considered crucial to face the (re) rise of Russia to great power.