Introduction to the Issues and Foreign Policy Theories
This series will give an in-depth look at Turkey's recent foreign policy decisions. International media sources agree that President Erdogan's administration has taken an increasingly hard line on foreign affairs. However, there are overtly expansionist policies that have not hit the headlines.
The series is broken into four parts; an introduction to the issues and foreign policy theories, the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Libya conflict, and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Conflict and disagreements dominated Turkish foreign policy in recent months. This environment draws a contrast to President Erdoğan’s “zero problems with neighbors” approach, which, until 2020, focussed Turkish relationships in the Middle East on resolving problems with a “win-win approach through peaceful means” (Askerov, 2017, p. 150).
Many themes have developed in Turkish news in recent months. Turkish officials have defended Islam on the international stage after attacks from radical groups (France-Presse, 2020). Tensions have risen between Turkey and the European Union, the United States, the United Nations, NATO, and other international actors (BBC News, 2020). However, the overarching and critical theme in political and security developments is Turkey’s increasingly expansionist foreign policy. Commentators have argued that this policy shift indicates a new goal of regional hegemony or neo-Ottomanism (Wallis Simons, 2020; Quamar, 2018, p. 372).
David Myers (1991) provides a foundational definition of regional hegemons as “states which possess power sufficient to dominate a subordinate state system” (p. 5). This general term for regional dominance is identifiable in Turkish policy. However, some western organizations view Turkish aggression as more specific to neo-Ottomanism. Initially articulated by M. Hakan Yavuz (1998, 2020), neo-Ottomanism is based on Turkish-Islamic political discourse and aims to legitimize the Turkish state as the leader of wider Ottoman society (Gontijo and Barbosa, 2020, p. 81).
A Turkish police officer patrols the dock, backdropped by the drilling ship 'Yavuz' to be dispatched to the Mediterranean, at the port of Dilovasi, outside Istanbul. Photo Credit: Lefteris Pitarakis, AP
Recognizing the biases of news reporting is essential when exploring the context of Turkish news. Turkey’s interventions in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the Libyan theatre show their expansionist foreign policy in a broad context. However, this theme’s discussion would be incomplete without exploring tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically Northern Cyprus and Maritime border issues.
Based on political perspectives, media and academic interpretations of Turkey’s actions are variable. The sources consulted in this report are drawn from multiple international publications and NGOs. The global perspective benefits discussion of the broader context of regional interactions. Some Turkish references do not recognize the actions discussed in this series as examples of expansionist policy (Aksut and Dag, 2020). Therefore, this report accepts the potential bias of using international sources but seeks the advantages of the broader context. The sources consulted represent a consensus within global media to mitigate bias.
The of neo-Ottomanism is grounded in the Turkish Strategic Depth foreign policy doctrine. This strategy argues that Turkey’s Ottoman history created a natural hinterland in which it should maximize its influence through trade and culture (Stein, 2016, p. 7; Ozkan, 2014, p. 124). Strategic Depth directly translates to the ‘zero problems with neighbors’ policy, which seeks to expand economically and culturally without confronting domestic political issues. However, recent months suggest that Turkish expansionary policy has shifted towards a more imperial military interpretation of neo-Ottomanism.
One of these aspects is the Blue Homeland doctrine. Developed by Turkish Rear Admiral Cem Gurdeniz, the concept redraws Turkey’s territorial boundaries in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, including the natural resources within these areas (Gürdeniz, 2020, p. 85). Claims to sovereign waters that would connect Libyan and Turkish maritime borders for trade are evidence of Turkish foreign policy expansionism. Events related to the Blue Homeland doctrine are central to the discussion of Turkish expansionism in recent months. Recent news reports show divergence from and adherence to these perspectives.
Sources:
Aksut, F. and Dag, B. (2020). ‘Turkey can use right of self-defense in Mediterranean.’ [online] Anadolu Agency. Available at: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/-turkey-can-use-right-of-self-defense-in-mediterranean-/1892586 [Accessed 5 Dec. 2020].
Askerov, A. (2017). Turkey’s “Zero Problems with the Neighbors” Policy: Was It Realistic? Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 4(2), pp.149–167.
BBC News (2020). France recalls Turkey envoy after Erdogan says Macron needs “mental check.” BBC News. [online] 25 Oct. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54678826 [Accessed 4 Dec. 2020].
France-Presse, A. (2020). Macron criticises Turkey’s “imperial inclinations” as row between countries escalates. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/01/macron-criticises-turkeys-imperial-inclinations-as-row-between-countries-escalates [Accessed 2 Dec. 2020].
Gontijo, L.C.B. and Barbosa, R.S. (2020). Erdoğan’s pragmatism and the ascension of AKP in Turkey: Islam and neo‐Ottomanism. Digest of Middle East Studies, 29(1), pp.76–91.
Gürdeniz, C. (2020). Turkey in the Century of the Sea and Asia. Belt & Road Initiative Quarterly, 1(2), pp.81–88.
Myers, D.J. (1991). Regional Hegemons: Threat Perception and Strategic Response. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Ozkan, B. (2014). Turkey, Davutoglu and the Idea of Pan-Islamism. Survival, 56(4), pp.119–140.
Quamar, M.M. (2018). AKP, the Arab Spring and the Unravelling of the Turkey ‘Model.’ Strategic Analysis, 42(4), pp.364–376.
Stein, A. (2016). Turkey’s new foreign policy: Davutoglu, the AKP and the pursuit of regional order. London: Routledge.
Wallis Simons, J. (2020). Arab states are fighting back against Turkey’s ‘neo-Ottomanism’ | The Spectator. [online] The Spectator. Available at: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-arab-states-fighting-back-against-turkey-s-neo-ottomanism- [Accessed 2 Dec. 2020].
Yavuz, M.H. (1998). Turkish identity and foreign policy in flux: The rise of Neo‐Ottomanism. Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, 7(12), pp.19–41.
Yavuz, M.H. (2020). Nostalgia for the empire: the politics of neo-Ottomanism. New York: Oxford University Press.