Foreign Policy Dimension Of The Instrumentalization Of Turkish Diaspora In Western Europe

Change of approach to the issue of Turkish diaspora can be perceived as one of thedimensions of the internal transformation Turkeyhas been undergoing since the AKP came to power at the beginning of the new millennium. The article focuses on exploring this newly adoptedapproach, embodied in intensified diaspora policy generation, which aims not only at supporting the diaspora members, but also at strengthening their loyalty to the ruling party which uses diaspora's potential to advance its own domestic and foreign policy interests. The last couple of years have been witnessing cross-border spillover of Turkish domestic affairs as well as growing assertiveness, demandingness and even more unacceptable practices shown by Turkey towards the Western European host countries. The main goal of the research is to draw attention to the instrumentalization of Turkish diaspora by the AKP, which, at the cost of perspective development of both the relations with the EU, and the diaspora itself, ended up as crossing of the imaginary red line– and indicatedpotential weakening of once crucial, European vector.