Interpreting Turkish foreign policy

Those folks who put on their ideological glasses before looking at Turkey’s foreign policy cannot interpret new developments accurately.

Sometimes, under the influence of the Western media's opposition to Turkey’s use of hard power, they use labels such as "adventurism," "Islamism" and "neo-Ottomanism." Other times, intimidated by Turkey’s active steps in places like Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, they ask “what business” the country has there. Finally, they accuse the Turkish government of being a “subcontractor for the imperialists.”

Turkey’s attempts to normalize its relations with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, in turn, were promptly described as a “U-turn.” Needless to say, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu came up with the most romantic statements yet.

Kılıçdaroğlu claims that, if elected, he will send back all asylum seekers with a big party. He also promises to restore peace in the Middle East, instantly, by reaching out to regional powers and Turkey’s neighbors. Those statements do not just target the government. They also create bigger problems, including losing sight of the emerging balance of power in the world and failing to notice the changing realities of Turkey’s neighborhood. They also stop the opposition from making sense of Turkey’s multidirectional foreign policy, which operates on multiple platforms, and from grasping the reasons behind policy changes.

In truth, Turkey has become a global player in recent years. In places where the country uses hard power, Turkey’s activities consolidate its defense industry and trade relations. At the same time, soft power instruments – including the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) and the Maarif Foundation – serve to create a permanent foundation for bilateral relations. In this sense, the business community’s investments are also combined with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s foreign policy moves.

One needs to visit those countries to fully appreciate the value and dynamism of that synergy. Interestingly, though, the opposition, which has fully isolated itself within Turkey’s borders, is unable to (or willingly does not) appreciate those developments. Indeed, people in Turkey’s neighborhood realize its new and active role more often than domestic players.

For the record, Turkey’s current role is quite genuine – as opposed to the Western media’s unrealistic references to “the Turkish model” around 2011. With regard to democracy, political stability, economic interests and competition, the country’s new role reflects a realistic experience. Despite turbulence and tensions, that new role emerges out of Turkey’s growing capacity and Erdoğan’s diplomatic experience and hard work.

I personally witnessed that reality during Erdoğan’s most recent trips to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. The other obvious case in point is the Bayraktar Akıncı, an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV).

The Turkish president was keeping an eye on the developments in Afghanistan as he paid a visit to the Balkans that contributed to regional stability. It is no secret that the Balkans and Central Asia have longbeen Turkey’s top foreign policy priorities. In both regions, the country distinguishes itself by promoting stability, brokering talks, making investments and inspiring confidence.

Bosnia-Herzegovina’s territorial integrity rests on the fragile complexity of the Dayton Accords. Its sustainability depends on Russia, the European Union and Turkey – the main heavyweights in the geopolitics of the Balkans. In this regard, Turkey taps into its strong presence in that region to pursue closer relations with Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Turkey also implements various projects to promote cooperation, such as the Sarajevo-Belgrade expressway, to prevent a return to the bloodshed of the 1990s. That Bosnia’s Serbian and Croatian leaders, too, acknowledged Turkey’s role as the “guarantor of peace and stability” – a role that Erdoğan is prepared to play – highlights the country’s success. The fact that Turkey acts with increasing self-confidence and independence in its relations with the world is a situation that every citizen of the Republic of Turkey will welcome with applause. However, when we look at the overall picture, it would be to go beyond the boundaries of reality to say that everything is working within an ideal framework in Turkey’s foreign policy. As in 2019, 2020 has been very challenging for Turkey. From the point of view of Turkish foreign policy, it seems that there will be many issues that will be inherited by 2021 from 2020. Along with the pandemic and natural disasters such as the earthquakes in eastern Elazığ province and western İzmir province and the avalanche disaster in eastern Van province, Turkey continued where it left off without taking a step back in its foreign policy.

The current situation of Turkish foreign policy is one of the most challenging, serious and problematic periods not only in recent years but also probably the entire Republican period in general.

Turkey needs to repair some relations by taking more firm steps, increase its number of friends and conduct its relations with the outside world in diversity and balance by pursuing policies aimed at both the West and the East. The noble questions that need to be asked here are who pushes the issues to military methods, whether military methods are really needed, to what extent space is opened for diplomacy and to what extent a correct route is drawn that will provide diplomatic solutions to foreign policy. Turkey has had to face severe problems and has taken foreign policy steps that prioritize its own interests in the face of difficult actors such as the U.S. and Russia.

It also proved that it is an independent country and that it can stand up and move forward in the face of pressure, as in the cases of Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean. After the coronavirus pandemic, new areas of opportunities have been opened up in Turkish foreign policy. In addition to its growing number of embassies, Turkey has already increased its capacity to operate abroad in recent years with institutions such as the Yunus Emre Institute (YEE), the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and the Maarif Foundation of Turkey. Now Turkey needs to recognize this crisis as an opportunity and shape these institutions in a more coordinated way according to the new global realities.