Turkey's policy towards the Balkan countries in the era of the Justice and Development Party 2003-2019

The Balkan region occupies a great importance in Turkish foreign policy imposed by several strategic, political, cultural and religious factors, and this importance has increased after the dismantling of the state of Yugoslavia and the end of the Cold War and the independence of the countries that were within Yugoslavia, which allowed Turkey to adopt a new policy based on building bridges of trust with these countries that are considered Turkeys entrance to the European continent, and with the Justice and Development Party taking over the reins of government in Turkey, the party pursued a policy based on a number of principles set by Ahmet Davutoglu in his book Strategic Depth, which drew the map of the Turkish foreign policy on top of this Principles "whistleblowing" and "soft diplomacy" This policy has provided Turkey with the possibility of establishing advanced relations with many Balkan countries in various fields, and has employed for this purpose many possibilities and institutions