(iPoster) After Alliance Coercion: Logic of Turkey’s Responses to U.S. Economic Sanctions

• In Event: Poster Sessions: African Politics Conference Group & Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Politics
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Politics

Abstract

How does Turkey respond to economic sanctions from its powerful ally, the United States? The literature on U.S.-Turkey relations has largely overlooked both the recurring cases of U.S. sanctions and the variability in Turkey’s responses. To address this gap, this article argues that Turkey’s response strategies are jointly determined by two factors: the political position of Russia, which shapes Turkey’s hedging space; and the expected intensity of the sanctions, which influences the dominant type of Turkish domestic audience costs. This framework is tested through detailed process-tracing of Turkey’s responses in the Brunson case and Operation Peace Spring. As Trump administration are applying economic coercion against its allies, this study revealed the strategic agency and its limits that U.S. allies possess when facing such pressure.

Author

• Yue Wang, Tsinghua University