2013 Summer 107 THE EFFECT OF NEW TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE ARTICLE ABSTRACT Turkish foreign policy has changed substantially within the last de- cade. Even though its relationship with the West still has signiicance, rela- tions with neighboring countries and other countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia have improved. his new foreign policy incorporates Tur- key’s political and economic aspirations. Its aim is to utilize the country’s economic strength in order to reach political goals while simultaneous- ly using political tools to obtain economic beneits. his study analyzes the efects of the recent change in foreign policy on Turkey’s international trade. Speciically, we investigate the inluence of Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan’s foreign visits on international trade by using a standard trade gravity model. Statistical analyses imply that Erdoğan’s visits help increase Turkish international trade. E conomic interests have always been one of the most important elements of foreign policy. In today’s globalizing world, the signiicance of eco- nomic relations in foreign policy has increased even more, and the suc- cess of speciic foreign policies is now measured by their economic impact. International trade has become the leading factor in international policy mak- ing, especially since the Cold War. In recent decades, policy makers of both developed and developing countries have been able to appreciate the mutual beneits of international trade to importing and exporting countries. In ad- dition, the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and oth- er developments in international law have liberalized and greatly reduced the barriers to international trade, thus increasing its volume and importance. By contrast, ater the foundation of the Republic in the 1920s, security concerns were the focus of Turkey’s foreign policies. he decision-makers gave priority to policies that would strengthen the regime and reinforce the reforms. Turkish foreign policy continued to follow this approach even long ater the establish- ment of the Republic. However, ater the Cold War, Turkey became much more The Efect of New Turkish Foreign Policy on International Trade ABDÜLKADİR CİVAN * , SAVAŞ GENÇ ** , DAVUT TAŞER *** and SİNEM ATAKUL **** * Gediz University, Department of Economics ** Fatih University, Department of International Relations *** Bilkent University, Department of Economics **** Fatih University, Department of Economics Insight Turkey Vol. 15 / No. 3 / 2013, pp. 107-122