The Importance of Leadership in International Relations

Abstract

The importance of political leaders’ character traits in domestic and international politics of countries is an issue that can not be ignored. For this reason, starting from the Greek philosophers the personality traits of leaders has formed the agenda of many scholars. In foreign policy rather than emotions, interests are more important and even in this field it is seen that leaders’ personality traits may outshine their country and add a positive value to their country or may have a negative impact on their country’s image. Today, when you have a look at the leaders who appear most in the world media, you can easily realize that they come to the fore with their individual characteristics as well as their countries’ political and economic power. This situation is more valid in countries like Turkey which tends to be European although it still has the traces of eastern culture. The purpose of this study is to study Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's leadership characteristics and to reveal the reflection of these characteristics on Turkey's international relations as he being one of the effective leaders in Turkish political life and in the arena of international politics with the beginning of the 21st century.