Abstract

This study questions the regionness of the ‘Turkic World’ and examines its construction as a region within the framework of multilateral cooperation and integration efforts among Turkic states from the early 1990s to the present. The ‘Turkic World’, conceptualized here as a space comprised of independent Turkic states, lacks geographical contiguity. While traditional International Relations theories consider geographical contiguity a constitutive feature of an international region, this study utilizes constructivist, cognitive, and functional regionalism theories. These frameworks suggest that regions can be constructed through shared identities, networks, and functional integration rather than strictly through physical proximity. Within this theoretical context, the study traces the shared region-building process among Turkic states by specifically examining the joint declarations of summits of the heads of Turkic states held since1992, which were institutionalized as the Turkic Council in 2010 and later as the Organization of Turkic States. The research observes the frequency of specific spatial and regional terms to map conceptual changes over time. The findings demonstrate a distinct conceptual shift in official discourse. A shared regional vision was largely absent in the declarations until 2015; however, the data reveals a striking increase in the use of the concept ‘Turkic World’ starting from the 2015 Astana Summit. We associate this rise with growing functional regionalism resulting from the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as the same declarations began to emphasize the Middle Corridor more frequently around 2014. We argue that the development of the Middle Corridor has enhanced the functional integration of Turkic states, thereby accelerating the need for, and the discourse surrounding, the construction of a shared region. Furthermore, Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the subsequent economic sanctions since 2014 have increased the geopolitical significance of the Middle Corridor, acting as a critical alternative to the BRI’s Northern Route, and of the Turkic states along this transit corridor as a regional bloc. Ultimately, as reflected in the examined declaration texts, these logistical networks have the potential to transform the ‘Turkic World’ from a purely cultural and cognitive construct into a dynamic and functional region rooted in mutual economic interdependence.