Opportunistic Constructivism: Examining Türkiye’s Strategy Recalibration in Libya Post-2019
Mohamd Mehdi Mlaouah
09/09/2026
The 2019 Maritime Memorandum between Türkiye and Libya’s Government of National Accord marks an inflection point in Ankara’s involvement in the Libyan scene. Following this memorandum, Türkiye shifted its engagement in Libya from primarily soft-power policies prior to 2019 toward a multidimensional power-projection strategy that follows the new ‘Blue Homeland Doctrine.’ This paper investigates the drivers of this recalibration, arguing that clear realist objectives, such as Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), were shaped by constructivist norms guiding Turkish state behavior in Libya.
The study employs a literature review detailing the military and economic dimensions of Ankara’s interventions before and after the agreement. It dissects the contrasting arguments for the motives and identifies the gaps between them. This paper contributes to the discipline by developing a new theoretical lens, Opportunistic Constructivism, to explain how constructivism and realism interact in shaping middle-power state behavior. It specifically emphasizes the interplay of realist instruments and ideology-based constructivist frameworks in influencing Turkish foreign doctrine in Libya.