After the end of the Cold War and when the transformation from bipolar to unipolar international order was completed, regional geopolitics which were used to be a playground for rival blocs’ power politics have become more salient and autonomous. The Copenhagen school develops a theory of regional security complexes to provide an alternative scheme to realism and to better understand the mechanism behind the security interdependency of regional and neighboring states. As one of the most turbulent and unstable regions of the world, the Middle East naturally becomes the focus of many regional security complex studies in which Turkey has been traditionally labeled as an insulator state, bordering between the European and the Middle East regional security complexes. However, the political structure in the Middle Eastern countries, the dynamics of the region and the aspirations of regional states are experiencing profound transformations since the popular Arab Spring demonstrations, and this situation requires the necessity of revisiting and re-evaluating the nature and context of the Middle East regional security complex. Meanwhile, Turkey’s assertive foreign policy approach under the Justice and Development Party entails changes in its geographical security environments with the neighboring states which makes Turkey to be more interrelated and interdependent in the Middle Eastern security affairs. This paper aims to discuss the role of Turkey in the Middle East regional security complex and by referring to the discourses of the leader cadres of the Turkish government, to show how and why Turkey has moved from an insulator state status to the pole of the Middle East regional security complex. The concluding part of the paper highlights serious challenges ahead of Turkey and suggests policy implications for Turkish foreign policy makers to contribute and enhance the level of stability and peace in the Middle East.
