Between Human and State Security: Turkey’s Syria Policy under the Justice and Development Party (AKP)

The research paper analyzes how the AKP government transitioned Turkey's role in Syria from a projected 'humanitarian superpower' to a state focused on national security. It examines the tension between 'humanitarian diplomacy'—which emphasizes Islamic identity and solidarity—and the 'securitisation' of Kurdish autonomy in Northern Syria. The author argues that Turkey's foreign policy is deeply linked to its domestic political shift toward authoritarianism and the need to appease nationalist allies, ultimately prioritizing state security over human security.

• Turkey's humanitarian policy under the AKP evolved from a normative project intended to brand the country as a humanitarian power into a realpolitik strategy focused on addressing perceived threats to the state, specifically Kurdish autonomy in Syria.
• The AKP's 'humanitarian diplomacy' framework, developed by Ahmet Davutoğlu, sought to fuse power and 'conscience' to project Turkey as a regional leader, contrasting its approach with Western liberal peacebuilding by emphasizing non-interference and the immediate needs of beneficiaries.
• Turkey became a leading global donor of official development assistance (ODA), with Syria becoming the largest beneficiary by 2013; the share of total ODA allocated to Syria rose from 52% in 2013 to 70% in 2015.
• The Syrian conflict saw Turkey shift from a human security approach—supporting democratisation and accepting over 4 million refugees—to a state security approach characterized by military interventions in Northern Syria from 2016 onwards to prevent a contiguous Kurdish zone.
• Domestic political shifts, including the 2016 coup attempt and the AKP's alliance with the right-wing nationalist National Action Party (MHP), forced a more hard-line policy toward Kurds, aligning domestic securitisation with foreign military operations in Syria.
• There is a significant disconnect between Turkey's international humanitarian rhetoric and its domestic reality, where democratic rights are under pressure and 80% of the population opposes the settlement of Syrian refugees.

APA

Tank, P. (n.d.). Between Human and State Security: Turkey’s Syria Policy under the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/b6d40894-3f8a-4ab4-9d41-9eab5604554c/Between Human and State Security Turkeys Syria Policy under the Justice and Development Party AKP.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Tank, Pinar. Between Human and State Security: Turkey’s Syria Policy under the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/b6d40894-3f8a-4ab4-9d41-9eab5604554c/Between Human and State Security Turkeys Syria Policy under the Justice and Development Party AKP.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tank |first1=Pinar |title=Between Human and State Security: Turkey’s Syria Policy under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/b6d40894-3f8a-4ab4-9d41-9eab5604554c/Between Human and State Security Turkeys Syria Policy under the Justice and Development Party AKP.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tankndbetween, author = {Tank, Pinar}, title = {{Between Human and State Security: Turkey’s Syria Policy under the Justice and Development Party (AKP)}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/b6d40894-3f8a-4ab4-9d41-9eab5604554c/Between Human and State Security Turkeys Syria Policy under the Justice and Development Party AKP.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }