In 1947, US President Truman introduced an understanding that defined the maritime jurisdictions of countries, called the continental shelf, for oil exploration and extraction operations in the western United States and accepted that the seas were also a part of the countries. The concept of the continental shelf, formalized in 1958 by the Geneva Convention on the Law of the Sea, prepared the ground for the Blue Homeland doctrine.
With the note given to the UN on March 2, 2004, Turkey claimed for the first time that it had sovereign rights in some western regions. In the note given to the UN dated 4 October 2005, it was reported that the sea areas between 32° 16" 18' and 28° East longitude, north of 34° North latitude, were its own continental shelf and that it would extend to the point where the Turkish-Greek continental shelf border in the Aegean Sea reached the Mediterranean, west of 28° East longitude, and in 2006, the Turkish Naval Forces launched Operation Mediterranean Shield in the region. The concept of the Blue Homeland was first put forward by Cem Gürdeniz at the symposium on the Black Sea and Maritime Security held at the Naval Forces Command on June 14, 2006. The concept that Cihat Yaycı contributed to the development of was recorded in Cihat Yaycı's book titled Basic Maritime Law in 2010. After 2015, the Blue Homeland played an active role in Turkey's implementation of a strategy based on military power in maritime areas and In 2019, for the first time in Turkish history, the Blue Homeland Drill was held simultaneously in the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean.
The Blue Homeland doctrine has been interpreted as a maritime counterpart to Ahmet Davutoğlu's "Strategic Depth" doctrine; Both doctrines aim to establish Turkey as a great power; however, the two doctrines differ in their ideological origins and strategic emphasis: Blue Homeland emerged from secular-nationalist circles within the Turkish Navy and places greater emphasis on maritime claims and naval power, contrasting with the diplomacy and soft-power-oriented approach initially associated with Davutoğlu and the AKP.
On November 27, 2019, the memorandum of understanding between the government of Turkey and the government of Libya on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean was signed in Istanbul and was found to be in compliance with Law No. 7195 in Turkey. It was published in the Official Gazette on December 7, 2019, and entered into force in domestic law. In Libya, it was approved on December 6, 2019, and entered into force in Libyan domestic law. Thanks to this agreement, which was announced to the world by notifying the UN, Libya and Turkey became neighbors by sea.
The first person to use the concept of the Blue Homeland was Cem Gürdeniz. Cem Gürdeniz argues that the defense of Turkey should begin in the "Blue Homeland", citing Atatürk's words during the Battle of Gallipoli, "I am not ordering you to fight, I am ordering you to die."
Cihat Yaycı
He is the person who wrote the doctrine that turned the term Blue Homeland into a doctrine and ensured that it took its place in the literature through an interdisciplinary study. He also has multiple articles and books on the subject. The person who drew the current Blue Homeland map known today is Rear AdmiralCihat Yaycı. Continuing his studies, Yaycı has a research center called Türk DEGS.
↑According to Erickson the order Kemal gave this order to the Ottoman 57th Infantry Regiment: "I do not expect you to fight, I order you to die. In the time which passes until we die, other troops and commanders can come forward and take our places".
↑Deriziotis, Anthony (2021). "The "Blue Homeland" and Erdoğan's Rhetoric: State Doctrine or Populist Narrative?". In Janković, Slobodan (ed.). Convergence and Confrontation: The Balkans and the Middle East in the 21st Century. Institute of International Politics and Economics. p.9. ISBN978-86-7067-293-2. The [Blue Homeland] doctrine represents a nationalist, irredentist approach to Turkey's maritime position that lies within the neo-Ottomanist narrative that has emerged since the Justice and Development Party has been in power.
12Çandar, Cengiz (2021). Turkey's Neo-Ottomanist Moment: A Eurasianist Odyssey. Transnational Press London. p.102. ISBN978-1-80135-049-5. From the definition of the chief ideologist who coined it, it will be accurate to define the Blue Homeland Doctrine as the strategic principle of Turkey's irredentism and expansionism within the all-embracing context of neo-Ottomanism.
↑Yanarocak, Hay E. C. (2021). Turkish Irredentism and the Greater Middle East(PDF). JISS. pp.3, 18. Under Erdoğan, Turkey adopted a new naval doctrine called the "Blue Homeland" (Mavi Vatan), which rejects the status-quo that was established by The Treaty of Lausanne (1923), replacing it with Turkish maritime borders that expand into Greek and Cypriot territory.... This [Blue Homeland] military posture advocated by the navy also rejects Lausanne borders, replacing them with Turkish maritime borders at the expense of Greek and Cypriot sovereignty.
↑"EU asks to see Turkey-Libya maritime border deal". Kathimerini. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019. The European Union on Wednesday called for the publication of a memorandum of understanding signed between Turkey and Libya which ostensibly delineates maritime borders between the two countries, and expressed its full support for the sovereign rights of Greece and Cyprus.
