Turkey's Foreign Policy Strategy in the Libyan Crisis;Strengthening the Brotherhood Model, Economic Interests or Regional Balance Review

Since the fall of the former leader Muammar Gaddafi and the chaos that followed his death in 2011, there has been no a powerful government to rule all over Libya. Thus, the complex political and security situation in the country prevented the two blocs of power in west and east of the country from reaching a comprehensive agreement on the division of power. Libya has increasingly becoming a battlefield for a geopolitical contest among regional and international powers, so their involvements have deepened the political divide and polarized security climate in the country. Turkey,one of the largest countries in the Middle East that has invested heavily in the country's economy since the former Libyan government,provided military support to the insurgents in the form of NATO alliance. Tuekey has backed the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated General National Congress based in Tripoli. In contrast, regional powers such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, along with France, have approved an interim government in eastern Libya (Tobruk) to escalate a conflict of interest in the region. This study tries to analyze the motivations and strategic goals of Turkish foreign policy from its active presence in the Libyan crisis. Given the descriptive-analytical approach, the paper argues that Turkey's interests in North Africa are tied to maintaining stability and expanding the sovereignty of the national unity government over all of Libya. The findings show that Turkish interests in Libya have focused on gaining economic benefits and strengthening the balance of power in the shadow of competition with regional and European powers, by overcoming the Brotherhood's tendencies.