The AK Party government's Middle Eastern approach indicated a change from those of previous governments. Whilst aiming to conduct an active and influential political role in the Middle East, they have attempted to achieve 'zero problems' in their relations with neighbors as well as closer contact. This article examines Turkey's relations with one of the states in the region -Iran. Under modified regional policy, the Turkish government aimed to maintain and expand relations with Iran. Particularly, strategic calculations on security, energy and economy are influential in transformation of the Turkish attitude towards Iran. At the same time, Iran appears willing to improve relations with Turkey for pragmatic reasons. What is evident for both countries is that though they both are tempting to improve mutual relations, they are at the same time searching ways to consolidate their regional role. In this connection, this article argues that there is a pragmatic rapprochement between the two countries.

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One of the current challenging study areas in International Relations discipline is normative theory which involves variety of approaches. There are two main groups: cosmopolitan and communitarian based on the philosophical concerns of the 1980s. A third group began to question this dichotomy since the 1990s. The aim of this article is to present a critical review of the theoretical literature about cosmopolitan-communitarian dichotomy over the past three decades. It is argued that though it is difficult there can be a middle ground. By particularly focusing on two of the dominant articulations of cosmopolitanism, that are moral and political cosmopolitan approaches, this article attempts to analyze the possibilities and limitations inherent in the search for ethical universalism through a third way.