Alternative scenarios for Turkish neo-Eurasianism in the 2040 horizon

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Regional Studies, University of Tehran

2 PhD student in the Department of Political Studies of the Islamic Revolution (Future Studies of the Islamic Revolution) - Islamic Revolution Comprehensive University- Tehran - Iran

3 Master's student, Department of Regional Studies, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/fasiw.2026.256247
Abstract
Turkey's geopolitical position at the intersection of Europe and Asia has long left it oscillating between Atlanticism and Eurasianism. Failed EU accession, the Cyprus crisis, and tensions with NATO allies, alongside growing proximity to Russia, China, and Iran, have made the future of this orientation—Neo-Eurasianism—a persistent problem in regional studies. This study examines the drivers shaping Turkish Neo-Eurasianism and sketches plausible scenarios toward the 2040 horizon. The main question is which scenarios are plausible for this ideology-strategy given these drivers; hence an exploratory rather than hypothesis-testing approach was adopted. The methodology rests on Dator's four generic futures archetype in three steps: identifying drivers through thematic analysis of documentary sources and a mind map of the socio-political system; screening and weighting them via MICMAC structural analysis; and translating consistent configurations in the two-dimensional Atlanticism–Eurasianism matrix into four alternative scenarios. MICMAC findings show that "domestic governance" and "alliance diversification" exert the greatest structural influence, while the "Kurdish question" and "EU accession" are input variables. Based on ten weighted drivers, four scenarios were formulated—Rise (preferred on four normative criteria), Decline, Disciplined (most probable on five empirical indicators), and Transformational—for each of which consequences for Iran's interests, from the Zangezur Corridor to the Syrian power vacuum, plus monitoring indicators and wild-card events, were identified. The future of this orientation depends more on Turkey's domestic governance and alliance-making than on external factors.

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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 04 November 2026