{"id":5724,"date":"2025-12-24T10:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conferences.tiu.edu.iq\/icabep\/?page_id=5724"},"modified":"2025-12-24T10:00:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:00:06","slug":"turkey-united-states-conflict-after-2012s-syrian-civil-war-natos-institutional-crisis-and-diverging-threat-perceptions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/conferences.tiu.edu.iq\/icabep\/turkey-united-states-conflict-after-2012s-syrian-civil-war-natos-institutional-crisis-and-diverging-threat-perceptions\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey\u2013United States Conflict After 2012\u2019s Syrian Civil War: NATO&#8217;s Institutional Crisis and Diverging Threat Perceptions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>Bayad Sarwar Abdullah*<sup>1<\/sup><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><br>International Relations and Diplomacy Department, Tishk International University, Erbil, 44001, Kurdistan Region, Iraq<br>Email: <a href=\"mailto:asadul.hoque@tiu.edu.iq\"><\/a><a href=\"mailto:amin.sharif@su.edu.krd\"><\/a><a href=\"mailto:m.ebrahimi@cue.edu.krd\"><strong>bayad.sarwar@tiu.edu.iq<\/strong><\/a><br><strong>DOI: 10.23918\/ICABEP2025p253<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Abstract:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This paper examines the post-2012 conflict between the United States and Turkey over Syria through a comparative analysis that centres NATO&#8217;s institutional crisis as a key explanatory factor. Drawing on neorealist theory, the study argues that divergent threat perceptions and strategic priorities\u2014U.S. emphasis on counterterrorism and global stability versus Turkey\u2019s focus on territorial integrity and the Kurdish threat\u2014were amplified by a perceived decline in NATO cohesion and U.S. engagement in the Middle East. Methodologically, the paper compares policy decisions, military engagements, and diplomatic initiatives by the two states, and situates these within alliance dynamics and external developments such as the U.S. strategic retrenchment and the Astana process. The main research question of the study is how we can explain the conflict between the United States and Turkey over Syria after 2012, and to what extent did NATO\u2019s institutional crisis shape or amplify that conflict? The findings show that NATO\u2019s uneven response and the U.S. pivot away from decisive regional leadership reduced Ankara\u2019s confidence in the alliance, prompting unilateral actions and closer tactical cooperation with non-NATO actors. The study concludes that NATO\u2019s institutional crisis did not cause the conflict alone but functioned as a critical amplifier that shaped how the U.S. and Turkey prioritized competing security objectives in Syria. The paper offers policy-relevant implications for alliance management and crisis-resolution mechanisms.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Keywords: <\/strong><em>NATO; Syrian Conflict; U.S. foreign Policy; International Security; Turkey; Syrian Kurds<\/em><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bayad Sarwar Abdullah*1International Relations and Diplomacy Department, Tishk International University, Erbil, 44001, Kurdistan Region, IraqEmail: bayad.sarwar@tiu.edu.iqDOI: 10.23918\/ICABEP2025p253 Abstract: This paper examines the post-2012 conflict between the United States and Turkey over Syria through a comparative analysis that centres NATO&#8217;s institutional crisis as a key explanatory factor. Drawing on neorealist theory, the study argues that divergent &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5724","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Turkey\u2013United States Conflict After 2012\u2019s Syrian Civil War: NATO&#039;s Institutional Crisis and Diverging Threat Perceptions - ICABEP TIU<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/conferences.tiu.edu.iq\/icabep\/turkey-united-states-conflict-after-2012s-syrian-civil-war-natos-institutional-crisis-and-diverging-threat-perceptions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Turkey\u2013United States Conflict After 2012\u2019s Syrian Civil War: NATO&#039;s Institutional Crisis and Diverging Threat Perceptions - ICABEP TIU\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bayad Sarwar Abdullah*1International Relations and Diplomacy Department, Tishk International University, Erbil, 44001, Kurdistan Region, IraqEmail: bayad.sarwar@tiu.edu.iqDOI: 10.23918\/ICABEP2025p253 Abstract: This paper examines the post-2012 conflict between the United States and Turkey over Syria through a comparative analysis that centres NATO&#8217;s institutional crisis as a key explanatory factor. 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