Turkey and the Making of Europe’s Security Architecture

Abstract

Speakers Senem Aydın Düzgit - Sabanci University Serhat Güvenç - Kadir Has University This webinar explores Turkey’s evolving role in the construction of the European security architecture at a time of profound geopolitical transformation. As Europe confronts war on its borders, renewed great-power competition, and increasing fragmentation of the transatlantic order, Turkey emerges as an important, but often contested, security actor. We will examine how Turkey has shaped, and been shaped by, Europe’s security arrangements through NATO, EU–Turkey relations, regional crises, and shifting threat perceptions. Particular attention will be paid to the tension between Turkey’s institutional embeddedness in Western security structures and its growing strategic autonomy in regional and global affairs. The webinar will address key analytical and policy questions, including: How has Turkey contributed to the development of Europe’s security architecture historically, and how has this role changed in recent years? To what extent do current EU-Turkey tensions limit or reshape security cooperation? Is Turkey better understood today as a stabilizing partner, a strategic balancer, or a disruptive actor within Europe’s security order? What are the prospects for renewed strategic alignment between Turkey and Europe in an era of geopolitical uncertainty? By addressing these questions, the webinar aims to provide a nuanced understanding of Turkey’s place in Europe’s security future and the broader implications for regional and transatlantic stability.