The Syrian crisis has revealed the clashing strategic interests of Turkey
and Iran. The two states are pursuing opposite policies on the Syrian
crisis to such an extent that Turkish regional policies concentrate on
the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, whereas Iran devotes its
resources to helping the regime stay in power. The reasons of these
clashing policies are important that they reflect regional objectives
of Turkey and Iran. In this respect, this study investigates the causal
relationship between the regional ambitions of Turkey and Iran, as
the independent variable, and the contradictory policies of these two
countries in the Syrian crisis, as the dependent variable. By doing so,
it aims to articulate the role of Turkish and Iranian regional ambitions by taking into account their clashing policies towards the Syrian
crisis from 2011 to 2015, the time frame before the Astana Process.
As of the methodology, this study applies game theoretical modeling
because this methodology helps manifestation of a cause-and-effect
relationship in a systematized way.