Introduction
The changing atmosphere of the post-Cold War era, as well as technological development and the discovery and access to various energy resources, has widened and deepened interstate rivalry in the Eastern Mediterranean. The breaking point of this rivalry for the region was 2011, which marked an increase in the regional naval activities of the states in the Eastern Mediterranean. Türkiye, along with Egypt, Israel and Greece, is considered one of the most important naval forces in the region. After 2011, the themes of increasing competition changed the conceptual and theoretical view of the seas as well as the technological investments made in the navy; the concepts of “Sky Homeland” and “Blue Homeland,” which were developed in addition to Türkiye’s concept of the Motherland, came to the fore in this period. While this mobility observed in the Turkish Navy was reflected in the studies on the subject, these studies included the themes of competition and cooperation in the region, as well as the technological progress of the navy. In some studies, the themes of increased competition and the technological advances of the Turkish Navy have been interpreted as Türkiye’s “aggressive expansion” in the region. Türkiye’s strategic goals in the region, the situations and conditions that challenge these goals, Türkiye’s steps towards becoming a global energy supplier and the legal dimensions of regional disputes have been the main themes of the studies. This study, on the other hand, aims to theoretically interpret the general nature of Türkiye’s actions in the region and puts forward this goal through a defense-offense balance approach.
