Given that the Middle East has been of secondary importance to Turkey's foreign policy since World War II, Turkey's approach to the Syrian and Iraqi crises must be examined within the framework of the neo-Ottomanism that dominates the country's foreign policy. Ahmet Davutoglu, a professor of international relations and the architect and designer of this policy, believes that Turkey's foreign policy is unbalanced and that excessive emphasis on relations with Europe and America and looking to the West has distanced the country from the Middle East and North Africa, the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire. In his view, Turkey has multiple identity indicators and must adjust its policies based on this diverse identity. Accordingly, Turkey should have constructive interaction with the Middle East, the Caucasus, Europe, and the Balkans, because orientation in one direction creates a kind of imbalance in Turkey's foreign policy. (Amidi and Rezaei, 2011: 240-239) Therefore, since Turkey belongs to all these regions, it can assume a leadership role in these regions, or in other words, become the "central power" of these regions and gain strategic importance internationally. (Niyakoyi and Bahmanesh, 2012: 124) In this way, Oglu calls for establishing a balance in Turkey's relations with the East and the West.