Lebanon in Türkiye’s New Levant Strategy: Strategic Importance, Opportunities, and Constraints

This analysis examines why Lebanon has become a strategic actor in Türkiye's new Levant strategy after the fall of the Assad regime and the rise of the Israeli threat, and assesses the opportunities and constraints shaping bilateral relations.

File

Lebanon in Türkiye's New Levant Strategy: Strategic Importance, Opportunities, and Constraints

(2.12 M)

Browse

The transformation of the political order and of the security architecture in the Middle East after October 7, 2023- Operation Al-Aqsa Flood- and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria on December 8, 2024, reshaped the mutual relations between Türkiye and Lebanon. Due to Tel Aviv's aggressive expansionist strategy in the region, Beirut has become a highly strategic actor for Ankara in its broader regional calculations, and Türkiye has, for the first time, assessed Lebanon's security through the lens of its own national security. In this regard, this paper examines the strategic context of Türkiye's accelerating relations with Lebanon within its new strategy for the Levant region. Building on the argument that the new process in Syria and the growing Israeli threat in the region have made the Türkiye-Lebanon rapprochement a necessity, this study also seeks to project the development and deepening of bilateral relations.

#Lebanon#Levant#Türkiye's New Levant Strategy#7 October 2023 Israel's Attack on Gaza with Disproportionate Force#Operation Al-Aqsa Flood#8 December 2024 Collapse of the Syrian Baath Regime#Türkiye-Lebanon Relations

SOHAIB JAWHAR

Sohaib Jawhar is a Lebanese researcher and political analyst. He serves as Senior Research Fellow at Triangle Center for Studies and Resident Research Fellow at the Politics and Society Institute. His work focuses on Middle Eastern regional affairs, with particular expertise in Lebanese-Syrian relations, regional security, and geopolitical developments in the Levant. His research and analysis have appeared through contributions to the Carnegie Middle East Center, the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, and Al Jazeera, among other regional and international platforms. Alongside his academic work, he serves as Media Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon, where he works on strategic communications and regional policy affairs.

MUHAMMED HÜSEYİN MERCAN

Muhammed Hüseyin Mercan: 2008 yılında Marmara Üniversitesi Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü'nde lisans eğitimini, 2011'de ise Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler programında "Suriye Dış Politikası ve Ulusal Çıkar: 1990- 2010" başlıklı tez çalışmasıyla yüksek lisans eğitimini tamamladı. İstanbul Üniversitesi Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler programında yürüttüğü doktora çalışmasını "İslami Hareketin Kurumsallaşma Sorunu Işığında Müslüman Kardeşler Teşkilatı" başlıklı tezle 2017'de tamamladı. Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü'nde öğretim üyesi olarak görev yapan Mercan, genel itibarıyla Orta Doğu siyaseti üzerine araştırmalar yapmaktadır. Bu alanda ulusal ve uluslararası düzeyde çeşitli akademik makaleler kaleme alan Mercan'ın Suriye: Rejim ve Dış Politika ve Müslüman Kardeşler'in Yükselişi ve Düşüşü başlıklı iki kitabı ile Transformation of the Muslim World in the 21st Century, Orta Doğu'nun Ekonomi Politiği (Taha Eğri ile) ve Arap Ayaklanmalarını Yeniden Düşünmek (Mesut Özcan ile) başlıklı derlemeleri bulunmaktadır.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS