The Southern Gas Corridor and Turkey's Pipeline Politics at the Post-Cold War Period

Abstract: The energy resources (notably oil and gas) are of strategic significance for national power. The resources are significant in both economic terms constituting the drivers of global economy and in political terms. The political essentials of the resources make their “high card” status in the international political gamble. The “high card” status stems from the assessment that the holder of the “card” (oil and gas resources or resource supply routes) can throw its “power card” and change the balance of power, power distribution in the international politics. Turkey, a state actively involved in the international political gamble, also pursues to hold the “high card”. At the post-Cold War period Turkey has come up with the foreign policy vision of a potentially achievable hegemony in the regions such as the broader Caspian, the Middle East. In line with its new foreign policy vision Turkey seeks to balance relations with Iran, Russia, EU and U.S. and to increase its power in the respective relations. Implementing proactive pipeline politics, Turkey is interested in becoming a central “energy-bridge” linking the regions such as the broader Caspian, the Middle East, prospectively the Black Sea and Europe. The regions coincide with the regions where Turkey strategically views itself as a hegemon or an influential power. In this respect the research aims to explore the “empowering effect” of Turkey´s pipeline politics.