Insight Turkey Vol. 17 / No. 1 / 2015, pp. 9-18

It is widely accepted that identities are stable and they are one of the main motivations for alliance formations. The recent political fight between the AKP and the Gülen movement, however, provides a rich case for those who claim the contrary. Rather, as this political fight proved, it is the power struggle that shapes relations between different actors. This article is a bold attempt to explain the role of power relations in this political fight with a special focus on the AKP’s relations with Iran. Having discussed why identity and interest are not determining factors in the Gülen movement’s vehement opposition to the AKP’s relations with Iran, the article argues that it is power struggle between the AKP and the Gülen movement that mostly shapes the latter’s imagination of the current relations between Turkey and Iran.

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