Turkey’s assertive turn in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

From cautious support to strategic engagement with Azerbaijan

Bibliographic Data

ID23310898
AuthorsLevon Hovsepyan (0000-0002-7888-9597, Yerevan State University, corresponding author), Vahram Ter‐matevosyan (0000-0002-2212-0391, American University of Armenia)
Year2026
Pages1-24
Publication date2026-07-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-3857 • E-ISSN: 1743-9639
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14683857.2026.2704513
OpenAlexW7169866540
LanguageEN
References cited52

Unlike the early 1990s, when Ankara refrained from direct military involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, in 2020 Turkey played a pivotal role in securing Azerbaijan’s military victory. Thus, the earlier cautious posturing gave way to strategic assertiveness. This study examines the domestic-level factors that enabled Turkey’s assertive engagement in the conflict with an unprecedented degree of power projection. By looking into the evolution of key domestic institutional dynamics and their implications for Turkey’s strategic turn, the paper comparatively analyzes the reasons behind Ankara’s positioning during the Nagorno-Karabakh wars in the 1990s and 2020. The article argues that Turkey’s autocratic turn, the neutralization of domestic checks and balances, the monopolization of decision-making, the expansion of military power and capabilities, and revisionist foreign policy posturing collectively conditioned Ankara’s involvement in the war.

Action (physics) · Assertiveness · Context (archaeology) · Government (linguistics) · Strategic planning · European Politics and Security · Multidisciplinary Science and Engineering Research · Post-Soviet Geopolitical Dynamics

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