Perceptions TR Africa Asia

8/3/2019 Perceptions TR Africa Asia

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115PERCEPIONS, Autumn 2011, Volume XVI, Number 3, pp. 115-137.

Introducton

Followng the AK Party’s accesson

to power n 2002, urkey’s oregn

polcy openng towards long-neglected

regons has been ganng more depth

and dversty. Among these ntatves,

the most strkng and n some aspects

the most “novel” openng has been the

relatons developed wth Arca and

Asa. o place these relatons wthn thegeneral course o urksh oregn polcy

s o mportance n understandng both

the general drecton o these relatons

and ther possble nclnatons.

Te purpose o ths artcle s to

place urkey’s post-2002 Arcan and

Asan openngs n a ramework and to

develop a general perspectve. Frstly

the economc, poltcal and ntellectual

oundatons that have led these relatons

to develop wll be dscussed; ollowng

ths, the economc and poltcal course

o the relatons wth Arca and Asa,

ncludng problem areas, wll beexamned n detal.

Mehmet ÖZKAN*

urkey’s ‘New’ Engagements n Arca and Asa:Scope, Content and Implcatons

Abstract

Since the AK Party assumed power in

2002, urkish oreign policy has gone througha tremendous change both in its content and scope. Te most striking and ‘new’ aspect o urkey’s oreign policy has been toward Aricaand Asia. Tis article examines and ofers aholistic view o these developments. Aricanopening represents a perect convergence o civil society and state cooperation and bear ruit in political, economic and social terms in avery short time. However, the most important implication is that it aims to conceptualize a‘new’ Arica in urkey by overcoming the image o two separate Arica: Sub-Saharan Aricaand North Arica. Ankara’s Asia policy has been shaped with an intention o placing the existing relations “in a certain systematic” withthe urkic republics in Central Asia; to reach“a policy o normalization” with countries like China and India; and to ollow certain

political and economic policies to translate relations “rom normal to deep cooperation” with countries like South Korea and Japan.

Key Words

urksh oregn polcy, Arca, Asa,Chna, Inda.

* Sevlla Unversty, Span.


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Mehmet Özkan

116

o power whle re-conceptualzng tsunderstandng o nternatonal poltcs

n a new ramework. Ts ntellectualtranston and transormaton hasemerged as a result o oregn poltcalcrcumstances as much as urkey’s ownpoltcal dynamcs.

urkey s today lookng at ts regonand the world wth a new and derentperspectve and as a consequence there

have been radcal changes n ts approachto Arca and Asa. Accordng to thsnew perspectve Arca and Asa are notregarded as dstant and troubled regonsbut as possble partners wth whchrelatons n poltcal and economc areasought to be establshed and developed,and where unty o acton should beundertaken when necessary.

Te second transormaton thatconsttutes the economc oundaton o the openngs has been urkey’s eortsto reposton tsel n a changng globaleconomy. Although urkey’s ncreasngengagement wth the global economy started ater 1980 wth the eorts o urgut Özal,1 the systematc ramework

o a growng economc engagement wasestablshed ater 2002 n the AK Party era, because Özal perceved the worldas an area o opportuntes rather thana land o perls and especally had tredto realze these new global economcopportuntes..

Te struggle to redene a worldvew

whch concentrated on economcs hasled the way and lad the oundatons

Te Intellectual, Economcand Poltcal Foundatons o

the Openngs

Whle t s not possble to separateurkey’s Arcan and Asan openngsrom the general tendences o urkey’soregn polcy, t s possble to evaluatethe economc, poltcal and ntellectualoundatons o ths openng n three

basc ponts. A correct understandng o the analyss o the ntellectual bass orthe openngs wll provde an answer tothe queston o why urkey has startedto undertake these openngs towardsderent regons o the world that wereprevously neglected n urksh oregnpolcy.

Especally ollowng the AK Party’saccesson to power, the rst oundatonor change has been ntellectual. Temajor ntellectual transton n urkshoregn polcy has been the vsblepromnence o a geographcal perceptonn ts outlook towards the whole world.urkey no longer construes the world

as t was durng the Cold War perod,but has rather adopted new balances

Te major ntellectual transtonn urksh oregn polcy hasbeen the vsble promnence o a geographcal percepton nts outlook towards the whole world.


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Turkey’s ‘New’ Engagements in Africa and Asia: Scope, Content and Implications

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are parallel to the two aorementonedapproaches, are to ncrease Ankara’s

actvtes n all regons and nternatonalorganzatons, and to ncrease urkey’sactvtes to contrbute to regonaland global peace. oday urkey s notprone to crss, but nstead pursues aoregn polcy wth a specc vson andperspectve.6 Wthn urkey’s poltcalvson, ts relatons wth Asa and

Arca are not only an alternatve to tsrelatons wth the West, but also do notpose a contradcton. In a world wherethe nternatonal system s no longerbpolar, urkey wants to dsplay an actvepresence n all nternatonal and regonalorganzatons and has determned tsoregn polcy nclnatons wthn ths

ramework.7

urkey’s observer statusn the Arcan Unon, ts partnershpo dalogue n the Assocaton o Southeast Asan Natons (ASEAN), tsactve stance n the G-20 and ts non-permanent member status n the UNSecurty councl n the 2008-2010 termhave to be evaluated n ths ramework.

Te Arcan and Asan openngs are parto these eorts.

Arcan Dmenson o ‘New’urksh Foregn Polcy 8

Untl recently t could not have beenthought that urkey would show a deep

nterest towards Arca nor would t havebeen expected that a urksh mnster o

or the dentons o a new “natonalrole” and oregn polcy orentaton,

whch have manested themselveseven more durng the AK Party era.2 Yet even a short comparson o the AK Party and Özal eras clearly presentsthe basc derences between the twoperods. Özal’s approach dsplayedboth a structuralst and an opportunstcharacter and regarded the economy asthe prncpal component. As a result, nths perod urkey embraced a pragmatcapproach. However, durng the AK Party era, urkey has been tryng to developa new regonal and global perspectvebased especally on hstorcal andcultural components. Ankara’s proactveand dynamc openngs towards derentregons o the world have been systematc

and mportant ntatves rather thanbeng appendages to ts relatons wththe West.3 From ths ramework, urkey’sdenton o tsel as a “central country”rather than a “brdge” s an ndcator o ths new vson.4 urkey, when vewedrom ths standpont, both started toopen up towards other regons such as

Asa and Arca wth an nsttutonalzedpartnershp and wanted to play a moreactve role n nternatonal relatons.5 Tereore, the AK Party era’s oregnpolcy s more comprehensve and hasmore depth n both style and expressonthan that o the Özal era, and, as a result,

wll probably have long-term outcomes.

Trd, the poltcal oundatons o urkey’s Arca and Asa openngs, whch



Mehmet Özkan

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n urkey has been that Arca generally s dvded nto two: North Arca and

Sub-Saharan Arca. Ts dvson hasbeen shaped by hstorcal developments,partcularly the Ottoman legacy, and hasalso operated as a oundaton or urkey’soutlook towards Arca wth regardsto oregn polcy. Te Ottomans hadestablshed consderably strong relatons

wth North Arca and many states ncontemporary Arca had been part o the Ottoman State n the 15th and 16th centures. Tereore, North Arca s nota dstant regon rom the context o thegeographcal contemplaton o urkshsocety bascally or two reasons. Te rsts the hstorcal proxmty that arses romthe Ottoman past o these North Arcannatons and the Muslm populaton

n these countres. Ts has causedurkey to vew North Arca as part o ts mmedate surroundngs. From thsperspectve, the poltcal and economcrelatons that have been developed wthNorth Arca have never been questonedand the regon has always been seen asan mportant part o dversyng urksh

oregn polcy. Te second s that becauseNorth Arca s regarded as part o thegreater Mddle Eastern regon, urkshsocety has always elt close to t.10

Sub-Saharan Arca, on the otherhand, has always been seen as a dstantgeographcal regon and has generally been assocated wth poverty, hunger,

epdemcs and cvl war. Ts approachs generally the prncpal component o

oregn aars would stress that Arca smportant wth regards to a new oregn

polcy.9

However, there has been a drastcchange n urksh oregn polcy ater2002 n ths respect. Although urkey’srelatons wth the Arcan contnenthave a long hstory, today, especally neconomc areas, mportant steps havebeen taken wthn a short perod o tme.

Whlst urkey’s nterest n Arca nthe post-Cold War era started n 1998,

ths relatonshp has moved orwardand has undergone revolutonary transormatons especally as a result o the eorts o AK Party. Arca, whch10 years ago was remembered wthmages o hunger, poverty and confct,s today seen as a contnent wth whchmutual cooperaton could be developed

n economc and poltcal elds. In theollowng secton, a short summary o the hstorcal dmenson o therelatons wll be gven n order to betterunderstand the contemporary urkey-

Arca relatons, ollowed by an analysso the economc and poltcal relatonsthat have been developed snce 2002.

Te Hstorcal and SocalFoundatons o urksh- Arcan Relatons

It s mportant to look at the Arcancontnent rom a geographcal perspectven order to better understand urkey’s

hstorcal relatons wth Arca. Tegeographcal apprehenson about Arca




119

then relatons ht a record low durngthe Republcan era. Relatons have only

been mproved wth the work that startedater the approvng o the Openng upto Arca Plan n 1998 and then ganedmomentum ater 2005.13

In the rst perod, the Ottomans were nvolved n close relatons wthNorth Arca. Egypt, Lbya, unsa,

Algera and some other countres were

completely or partally parts o theOttoman state and were admnsteredby the Ottomans. Furthermore, theOttomans played an mportant roleaganst Spansh nterventons n North

Arca and sent mltary assstance. In Sub-Saharan Arca, Ertrea, Sudan, Ethopa,Somal, Djbout and even Nger and

Chad lved under Ottoman regn. TeOttomans actvely worked to preventthe spread o Portuguese colonalsmto West Arca. In the northern regonso Sub-Saharan Arca, the Ottomansplayed an mportant role wthn thebalance o power system and developedrelatons o close companonshp andcooperaton wth the Kanem-BornuEmpre, whch was ounded n the northo modern Ngera, Nger and Chad.Te Ottoman state sgned a deencepact wth the Kanem-Bornu Empre n1575 under the regn o Murad III andsent mltary equpment and nstructorsto the Kanem-Bornu Empre.14 Also,ater the openng o the rst mosque n

Lagos n 1894, the Ottoman state sent aspecal envoy to the regon and rewarded

the dentcaton o Sub-Saharan Arcan urksh socety. Although urkey,

due to ts Ottoman past, has relatvely mportant relatons wth Arca, thshstorcal past has not drawn any academcor poltcal attenton. Followng 1999,especally wth the 700th annversary celebratons o the establshment o the Ottoman state, researchers havestarted to pay attenton to neglectedareas n Ottoman hstory.11 However, ts possble to say that the unavourablemage regardng Sub-Saharan Arcahas started to change thanks to the

work o the AK Party government ando the non-governmental organzatons(NGOs) n the recent perod.

When all s consdered, urkey’srelatons wth Arca can be examnedn three parts: Te relatonshp startngrom the nal years o the Ottomanstate to the establshment o the urkshRepublc n 1923; the relatons between1923 and 1998; and the relatons ater1998. From a general perspectve, there

had been consderable relatons wth Arca n the Ottoman perod,12 and

Te Ottomans had establshedconsderably strong relatons wth North Arca and many states n contemporary Arcahad been part o the OttomanState n the 15th and 16th centures.



Mehmet Özkan

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Eend was sent to Cape own. Wththe arrval o Ebu Bekr Eend, strong

relatons between the Muslms o theregon and the Ottoman state wereestablshed. Te best example o ths sthe contrbuton made by South ArcanMuslms to the Hejaz ralway campagn.Between 1900 and 1907, the Muslmcommunty rased approxmately £366,551 and ths money was sent to

Istanbul.17

In return, the Ottoman stateawarded contrbutors wth over 200golden, slver rand copper medals. Somemembers o the Eend amly enteredpoltcs and played an actve role nSouth Arca. Whle the Eend surnames stll wdely used n South Arca, someamly members have come back to

urkey, whlst others have mmgratedto Canada, Australa and New Zealand.18

In the perod between 1923and 1998, urksh-Arcan relatonsexperenced a record low level. Te manreasons or ths are nternal problems,such as the struggle aganst colonalsm

and the subsequent process o naton-state buldng experenced by both sdes.

Muammer Shtta, the leader o thenorthern Ngera Muslm communty

wth the hghest rank as “Bey” anddecorated hm wth the Ottoman Medalo Honour. Members o the Shtta-Bey amly stll play an mportant part nNgeran socal and poltcal le andpreserve ther nfuence.15

In the southern part o Sub-Saharan Arca, the Ottomans had

dplomatc relatons snce 1861. Aterthe appontment o PE de Roubax on18 February 1861 as honorary consul toCape own, whch remans wthn theborders o the contemporary Republco South Arca, the appontment o permanent consuls was contnued. On21 Aprl 1914, Mehmet Remz Bey

was apponted as the rst dplomat tothe regon and passed away there on 14February 1916. Mehmet Remz Bey’sgrave s located n Johannesburg, South

Arca, n the Braamonten cemetery.16

Te relgous dmenson alsoganed promnence rom tme to tmen the Ottomans’ relatons wth Arca.

For example, n 1863 the Muslmcommunty n Cape own pettonedor an mam rom the Ottoman statethrough the honorary consul at the tme,PE de Roubax. Because the regon wasunder Brtsh rule, ths request o theMuslm communty was delvered to theOttoman state by the Brtsh Monarch.

Te Ottoman Sultan at the tme orderedor an mam to be sent and Ebu Bekr

Te Openng up to ArcaPlan has been addressed na serous manner by the AK Party snce 2002 and has beenmplemented, wth the support

o a number o NGOs such asUSKON and İHH.




121

these projects were not based on long-term goals or plans and that urkey

dd not have any plans to undertake acomprehensve openng towards Arca.

Te ongong process, namely the thrdperod n urkey-Arca relatons, rststarted n 1998 wth the approval o theOpenng up to Arca Plan.22 However,both the coalton government and theeconomc crss o 2000-2001 delayed the

mplementaton o ths plan to the post-2002 AK Party government era.

Contemporary urksh- Arcan Relatons

Te Openng up to Arca Plan hasbeen addressed n a serous manner by the AK Party snce 2002 and has beenmplemented, wth the support o anumber o NGOs such as USKON(Conederaton o Busnessmenand Industralsts o urkey) andİHH (Human Rght and FreedomsHumantaran Ad Foundaton). Teyear 2005 was declared as “the Yearo Arca” n urkey and dplomatc,poltcal and economc preparatons weremade accordngly. In ths context, PrmeMnster Recep ayyp Erdoğan’s vststo Ethopa and South Arca n March2005 were a turnng pont as they werethe rst vst o a urksh prme mnsterbelow the equatoral lne n the country’s

hstory. Ts tour was subject to crtcsmby many reporters, retred dplomats

Although urkey gradually started toshow some nterest n Arca durng the

Cold War, ths remaned rather lmted toNorth Arca. urkey, whch approachedthe regon wth the logc o the Cold

War, pursued a polcy that was n someplaces n contradcton wth hstorcaland socal realtes. For example, n theUN General Assembly vote on Algera’sndependence n 1956, urkey’s “no”vote s remembered as a hstorcalmstake.19 Although urkey’s relatons

wth North Arca remaned lmted,some developments n the economcand poltcal sense were exhbted wthnthe context o the mult-dmensonaloregn polcy eorts n the 1970s;however, no specal sgncance hadbeen attrbuted to Sub-Saharan Arca nthat perod. Despte ths, urkey had arole, albet a lmted one, n Zmbabwe’sand Namba’s ndependence. Smlarly,

when Ghana won ts ndependencen 1957, urkey ocally recognzedGhana and apponted an ambassador.urkey recognzed the ndependence o all Arcan natons n the post-colonal

perod o the 1950s and 1960s andestablshed dplomatc relatons wththem.20 In ths context, urkey’s rstocal permanent dplomatc mssonn Arca was the consulate n Lagos that

was opened n 1956.21 Whlst notng thaturkey generally showed some, albet notvery much, eort to establsh poltcal,

cultural and economc relatons, t snevertheless necessary to emphasze that



Mehmet Özkan

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decson to set up the urkey-ArcaChamber and have lad the nsttutonal

oundatons or developng commercalrelatons between the two countres. Tenext summt was decded to be held nan Arcan country n 2013.24

Snce 2008, urkey has been n aneort to ncrease ts dplomatc presencen Arca and decded to open 15 new embasses. Currently urkey has a total

o 23 honorary consulates n Arcaand has 24 embasses, hal o whch were establshed n 2009-2010. Atleast nne more embasses are already

n preparaton. Whle some o theseambassadors havebeen appontedalready, they are busy ndng buldngand organzngother logstcs; orothers, the ocalprocedures are

almost complete.

In 2005 urkey ganed observerstatus n the Arcan Unon and PrmeMnster Erdoğan was nvted as anhonorary guest to the 2007 ArcanUnon Summt. In May 2008 urkey,

whch was named as a strategc partnerby the Arcan Unon, became a membero the Arcan Development Bank.25 In addton to the progress o urkey’snsttutonal relatons wth Arca,

economc relatons have also shown asgncant development.

and certan meda organzatons and was nterpreted as wastng urkey’s

lmted energ.23

However, desptethese crtcsms, wth the poltcal andeconomc returns ganed rom the

work o especally non-governmentalorganzatons and the ntatves that the

AK Party government took, t s now possble to say that the mage o Sub-Saharan Arca has changed.

urkey, under the auspces o Presdent Abdullah Gül, hosted aurksh-Arcan Summt or the rst tmebetween 18 and 21 August 2008 wth thepartcpaton o topocals rom over50 Arcan countres.Only Lesotho,

Mozambque andSwazland aled tosend a representatveto the summt.Morocco, whch snot a member o the Arcan Unon due to the WesternSahara confct, also partcpated. Durngthe summt, urksh leaders carred outnumerous senor level meetngs andpettoned or support n urkey’s bdto gan non-permanent membershp nthe UN Securty Councl electon orthe perod o 2008-2010. Commercally,ollowng ths summt, the Unon o Chambers and Commodty Exchangeso urkey and the Unon o Arcan

Chambers o Commerce, Industry and Agrculture and Proessons took a jont

urkey, under the auspces o Presdent Abdullah Gül, hosteda urksh-Arcan Summt

or the rst tme between 18and 21 August 2008 wth thepartcpaton o top ocalsrom over 50 Arcan countres.




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Te prorty n urksh-Arcan

relatons s economc development.İKA, especally wth ts three oces

n Ethopa, Sudan and Senegal, hasplayed an mportant role n ths respect.

Trough these oces, İKA hasoperated n 37 countres n Arca and

has partcularly supported economc

development projects. For example,n 2008, İKA started the Arcan

Agrcultural Development Program wth the am o assstng agrcultural

development n Arca and has

undertaken projects n 13 countres,Burkna Faso, Djbout, Ethopa,Gunea, Gunea Bssau, Mal, Senegal,

Comoros, Madagascar, anzana, Kenya,

Rwanda, and Uganda.26 urkey also

gves drect economc support to Arca’s

development through both the urkshRed Crescent and other nternatonal

organzatons.

Non-governmental organzatonshave played a crucal role n urkey’s

presence n Arca and n the development

o relatons. Among many urkshNGOs operatng n Arca, the most

actve ones are USKON and İHH.

USKON, especally through the Worldrade Brdge meetngs, has poneered n

Along wth ormal relatons, theactvtes o publc bodes, such as the

Presdency o Relgous Aars and theurksh Internatonal Cooperatonand Development Agency (İKA),have played an mportant role n thedevelopment o relatons. Muslmrelgous leaders comng rom 22derent Arcan countres met rom 1-3November 2006 n Istanbul as guests o

the Presdency o Relgous Aars. Temeetng took place wth the partcpatono representatves rom Burkna Faso,Chad, Cameroon, Madagascar, Rwanda,South Arca, Mal, Kenya, Congo, andnumerous other countres. Durng thethree-day meetng, varous topcs such as“Relgous Identty n the Globalzaton

Process”, “Relgous Educaton andOpportuntes n the EducatonalFeld”, and “Te Basc Approaches andStances n the Conservaton o CulturalHertage” were dscussed. However,more than the topcs, the real mert o themeetng was to create or the rst tme aplatorm or sharng relgous experence

and knowledge between urkey and Arca. In the meetng, many Arcanpartcpants openly demanded urksh-style mosques and mams traned nurkey. Although the mportance o thecontnuty o such meetngs was stressed,the act that there has not been a secondmeetng snce 2006 s an ndcator that

urkey s not adequately utlzng tssot-power opportunty n Arca.

İKA has operated n 37countres n Arca and haspartcularly supported economcdevelopment projects.



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Another element that dstngushes the AK Party era polcy on Arca s the close

work o the state and non-governmentalorganzatons that was not wtnessedbeore.29 Busness assocatons and rele agences are especally at the oreront.Te newly-ounded Arcan Insttutealso contrbutes wth normaton anddocument support.

urkey’s Asan Openngs Although urkey prevously pad

senor level vsts to Asan countres,there has been a vsble ncrease npresdental, prme mnsteral and othermnsteral vsts n the 2000s. Presdent

Abdullah Gül pad vsts to Pakstan n

2007, Japan n 2008, Chna n 2009,South Korea, Inda, and Bangladesh n2010, and Indonesa n 2011. Smlarly,Prme Mnster Erdoğan vsted Pakstann 2003, Japan and South Korea n 2004,

Aghanstan, Indonesa, Malaysa, theMaldves, Taland, Sr Lanka, Pakstanand Mongola n 2005, Indonesa n

2006, Inda n 2008, Pakstan n 2009and Bangladesh, Pakstan and SouthKorea n 2010. Generally, vsts are madeto East and South Asa at least once ortwce a year at the head o governmentand presdental level. Ts s an ndcatorthat Ankara, unlke n the past, has amore systematc nterest n Asa. In ths

secton, the general ramework o thssystematc approach wll be explaned.

brngng Arcan busnessmen to urkey and encouragng urksh busnesses to

expand to Arca. Such meetngs havebeen conducted wthout nterruptonsnce 2006 wth ncreasng partcpatoneach year. USKON also sends severaldelegatons to Arca to examnenvestment opportuntes on ste.27

IHH, one o the leadng humantaranad organzatons n urkey, along wth

the developmental work t has donen 43 countres n Arca, s especally helpng thousands o people to gansght wth ts Cataract Project conductedthroughout hosptals n Sudan. IHH, naddton to ts well-drllng projects andts support or techncal and vocatonaleducaton, drectly contrbutes tonumerous projects, ncludng settng-up o schools and hosptals n numerous

Arcan countres.28

Te prncpal derence that hasdstngushed the AK Party era openngsrom that o prevous ones s that they have assgned equal value to both

Sub-Saharan Arca and North Arca,overcomng the mage o two separate

Arcas. Moreover, n the new era there areeorts to establsh a unted apprehensono Arca n urksh oregn polcy. Fromths perspectve, t can be sad thattoday n urkey, the negatve mage o Sub-Saharan Arca has been replaced

by a communty o potental partnerso economc and poltcal cooperaton.




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Snce 2002, n addton to generally mprovng economc and poltcal

relatons wth the urkc republcs, aramework or oregn polcy s also bengpursued wth these countres. Central

Asa does not only ntroduce a new dmenson or urkey, but t also opensa new space n urksh oregn polcy,ncreases urkey’s strategc mportance,and presents opportuntes n the eldo energy. It contrbutes to urkey’srelatons wth Russa, Iran and Chna as

well. Strengthenng the ndependence o the urkc republcsand supportngreorms has beenone o urkey’score oregn polcy ams n the regonsnce 2002. urkey’sapproach does notassume the role o abg brother, as t dddurng the 1990s butnstead operates on

the bass o equalty and maxmzatono mutual nterests. Also, n the AK

Party era, urkey has abandoned therhetorc o “Unty o the urkc World”snce t caused msunderstandng andhas nstead prortzed cultural unty.From ths perspectve, durng ther vsts,urksh leaders especally emphaszedthe lngustc, hstorcal, cultural andrelgous unty between urkey and

the urkc republcs. In ths context,eorts to mprove multdmensonal

Te Nature o Economc,Poltcal and Insttutonal

Relatons

urkey’s Asan openng s makngprogress and takng shape n accordance

wth the aorementoned oundaton andphlosophy. Whle a specal mportances attached to developng the exstngnsttutonal relatons n the regon, t

s possble to examne urkey’s polcy towards Asan states n three basccategores. Frst,the poltcal andeconomc polcestoward placng theexstng relatons “na certan systematc”

wth the urkcrepublcs n Central Asa, whch lacked ashared vson despte

workng relatons,have been pursued.Second, “a polcy o normalzaton” hasbeen pursued and ganed promnence nrelatons wth countres lke Chna andInda, because, due to several nstancesn the past, Ankara’s relatons wthBejng and New Delh could have beenregarded as problematc. Trd, certanpoltcal and economc polces toconvert relatons “rom normal to deepcooperaton” have ganed promnence

wth countres lke South Korea and

Japan wth whch urkey has had ahstory o good relatons.

Central Asa does not only ntroduce a new dmenson orurkey, but t also opens a new space n urksh oregn polcy,

ncreases urkey’s strategcmportance, and presentsopportuntes n the eld o energy.



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other countres, and steps to mproveblateral relatons have been taken

accordngly. Tere are two man reasonsor urkey’s desre to become closer toChna and Inda: Whlst the desre toact together wth rsng powers n certanareas at the nternatonal level consttutesthe poltcal reason, the real motve o urkey’s nterest n Bejng and New Delh s economc. Inda, havng the12th bggest economy n the world wtha populaton o 1.1 bllon, has a specalplace n the normaton technologessector. Ganng a greater share or urkshcompanes nvestng n constructon,communcaton and the energy sectorsn Inda and ts development n thenternatonal system s a prorty n termso urksh oregn polcy. Te same

apples to the oundatons o ts oregnpolcy stance towards Chna.

urkey’s relatons wth Inda andChna durng the Cold War could beseen as somewhat problematc. urkey’sspecal relatonshp wth Pakstan orInda and ts possble support or thestruggle o ndependence o the Uyghurpeople n Chna have been sources o concern n relatons. Wthn the contexto ts Asan openng, urkey has addressedts relatons wth Inda separately romts relatons wth Pakstan and tred notto let other states be nfuenced by theserelatons. Smlarly, the Uyghur queston,although stll ormng an mportant part

o urkey’s percepton o Chna, nolonger consttutes a prmary element.

cooperaton by utlzng mechansmssuch as the Internatonal Organzaton

o urkc Culture (ÜRKSOY), urkshLanguage Speakng Countres’ Heads o State Summt, the Frendshp, Fraternty and Cooperaton Councl o urkcStates and Communtes are underway.İKA’s projects to ncrease socal tes wllhelp nsttutonalze the relatonshp.

In 2009, durng the 9th urksh

Language Speakng Countres’ Headso State Summt, whch has been heldat regular ntervals snce 1992, certandecsons were taken to deepen and placerelatons n a systematc ramework. Onedecson was the ormaton o a Counclor Cooperaton Amongst urkshSpeakng Countres. In addton, n

lne wth the Nakhchvan agreement,a consultancy mechansm composedo the Councl o Heads o State o urksh Language Speakng Countres,the Councl o Foregn Mnsters o urksh Language Speakng Countres,the Senor Cvl Servants’ Commttee,the Councl o Elders and a secretarat

headquartered n Istanbul were decdedto be ormed. It was also decded that thesummt meetngs, whch had been heldat rregular ntervals, would be organzedevery two years wth the next summt tobe held n Kazakhstan n 2011.

Te ncreasng role o Chna andInda n world poltcs and especally the

speed o ther economc developmenthave aroused urkey’s nterest lke many




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In the context o urkey’s Asaopenng, t could be sad that a new era

n relatons wth Chna has begun.32

Presdent Gül pad a ormal vst toChna on 24-29 June 2009 wth alarge delegaton, the rst or 14 years.Sgncantly, or the rst tme n hstory,a urksh presdent vsted the Xngjan-Uyghur Autonomous Regon. Also,seven blateral agreements worth 3bllon dollars were sgned n the presenceo Gül and Presdent Hu. PresdentGül’s vst was productve and the tradevolume between the two countres has

shown a sgncantncrease and Chnahas become urkey’sbggest tradngpartner n the

Far East. urkey’sstrong crtcsm o Chnese volence nEastern urkstan m m e d a t e l y

ollowng Presdent Gül’s vst causeda low-level o tenson but relatonshave nevertheless ganed stablty. In

October 2010, Chnese Prme Mnster Wen Jabo vsted urkey and sgnedseveral agreements. Te most mportantdevelopment was the trade agreementbetween the two countres that stpulatedthe use o the lra and yuan nstead o thedollar n trade exchanges.33

Smlarly, Foregn Mnster Ahmet

Davutoğlu’s sx-day Chna trp at the endo October 2010, whch started rom

In order to open a new chapter nrelatons, Prme Mnster Erdoğan n

November 2008 and Presdent AbdullahGül n February 2010 vsted Inda wtha large delegaton. Although Inda ddnot return any vsts, t s neverthelesspossble to say that these vsts haveradcally changed Inda’s perspectveon urkey and played an mportantrole n ncreasng trade between Indaand urkey and developng blateralrelatons.30 In the ollowng perod, thebggest problem wth Inda was causedby Inda’s reacton to urkey’s decsonnot to nvte t to theurkey-Aghanstan-Pakstan trlateralmeetngs organzedunder the leadershpo urkey. Inda’spartcpaton nsubsequent meetngsand the trlateralmeetngs that turnednto an nternatonal orum helpedovercome ths complcaton. For urkey,Inda has the potental to become the

second bggest market n Asa aterChna. Moreover, urkey has potentalto ncrease ts market share n Inda.

Also, urkey and Inda, by mprovngblateral trade and poltcal relatons, arecreatng opportuntes or regonal andstrategc cooperaton. From the scope o regonal cooperaton, urkey and Inda

could cooperate n the areas o trade,energy and securty n Central Asa.31

urkey’s relatons wth Chna were dversed wth a mltary dmenson as Chnese mltary

jets were nvted to the AnatolanEagle manoeuvres conducted nKonya.



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poltcal relatons were taken. Althougheconomcally the blateral relatons are

seemngly ntensve, the trade mbalanceaganst urkey’s avour consttutes arsk whch hnders the deepenng o blateral economc relatons.36 However,socal relatons, especally the sgncantncrease n the number o South Koreantoursts, made mportant progress

whch s lkely to contrbute to culturalcooperaton. o carry relatons urther,Presdent Gül vsted South Korea n

June 2010. Ts was rst presdentalvst to South Korea n 28 years and gavea chance or the evaluaton o possbltesor cooperaton n the energy eld. Lastly,Prme Mnster Erdoğan partcpated nthe G-20 summt held n South Koreaand met hs South Korean counterpart.

Smlarly, deepenng economc tesconsttutes the backbone o urksh-

Japanese relatons. Prme MnsterErdoğan n Aprl 2004 and PresdentGül n June 2008 vsted Japan, therst such vst snce urgut Özal’s n1990. Te year 2003 was celebrated asthe “urksh Year” n Japan whle 2010

was celebrated as the “Japanese Year”n urkey. Japan s currently one o urkey’s largest tradng partners n theFar East. oday Japan s seen as not only an ndspensble credtor, as the thrdbggest economy n the world, but alsoas an ally or urkey. In 2010 severalevents were organzed n urkey wthn

the context o the Japanese Year towardsthe deepenng o economc and poltcal

Kashgar, was nterpreted as mprovng themutual understandng between urkey

and Chna wth regards to the Uyghurqueston.34 In September 2010, urkey’srelatons wth Chna were dversed

wth a mltary dmenson as Chnesemltary jets were nvted to the AnatolanEagle manoeuvre conducted n Konya.Ts event, whch was crtczed by the

West, was the rst mltary manoeuvresthat the Chnese orces conducted wth a

member o NAO.35

urkey has had a long-standnghstory o good relatons wth SouthKorea and Chna. Ts stuaton hasmanested tsel n urkey’s polcy todeepen relatons wth these countres,especally n the economc eld.Relatons wth South Korea, whchhad started as one o a mltary naturedurng the Korean War, ganed a strongpoltcal oundaton durng the Cold

War, wth both countres beng a strongally o USA. Te act that South Korea

was one o the countres whch provdedthe most ad to the vctms o theMarmara Earthquake o 1999 and the

very amcable condtons n whch the2002 World Cup match or thrd placebetween urkey and South Korea took place strengthened the urksh-SouthKorean rendshp at an emotonal level.

Durng Prme Mnster Erdoğan’sSouth Korea vst n 2004 and the SouthKorean Presdent Roh Moo-Hyun’s

2005 vst to urkey, concrete stepstowards establshng comprehensve




129

wth ASEAN and ganed the opportunty to urther deepen ts poltcal, economc

and cultural relatons wth the regon. ASEAN, whch was ounded n 1967, snot only a summt n whch Southeast

Asan countres meet, but has alsobecome an organzatonal headquartersor all o Asa. Durng the annual

ASEAN summts, South Asan Summtsare also held wth the partcpaton o 16

countres. Another regonal structure ASEAN

leads s the ASEAN Regonal Forumthat s organzed wth the partcpatono mportant world powers such as theUSA, Russa, and the European Unon.Foregn Mnster Davutoğlu joned the

ASEAN Regonal Forum on 24 July 2010and wth the sgnng o a partnershpagreement urkey has become the 28th member o the Forum. urkey’s ASEANmembershp and ts attendance at

ASEAN meetngs are seen as crtcally mportant steps towards makng urkey’s

Asan openng more permanent.

Lkewse, urkey s also resumng tsactve partcpaton n another regonalassocaton, the 21-member Conerenceon Interacton and CondenceBuldng n Asa (CICA). urkey’s actvepartcpaton n ths organzaton ganedgreater sgncance wth ts charmanshpo the ocal summt held on 21 June

2010 whch ncreased urkey’s presenceand nfuence.

relatons. Along wth economc relatons,progress n socal relatons s manestng

tsel more clearly. For example, n recentyears there has been an exploson n thenumber o toursts who vsted urkey.In 2010 alone, nearly 200,000 Japanesetoursts came to urkey and ths numberhas been on the rse.37

Another mportant part o urkey’s Asan openng has been the developmento relatons wth the regonal nsttutonsand ncreasng ts presence n the area. Inths context, urkey appled or observer

status n ASEAN, whch was acceptedn 2010. Foregn Mnster AhmetDavutoğlu sgned the ASEAN certcateo partcpaton on 23-24 July 2010 nVetnam’s captal Hano durng the 43rd

ASEAN Foregn Mnsters’ meetng.urkey’s accesson to ASEAN was ahstorcal step n the process o urkey’s

Asan openng as urkey or the rst tmeestablshed an nsttutonal relatonshp

urkey’s accesson to ASEAN

was a hstorcal step n theprocess o urkey’s Asanopenng as urkey or the rsttme establshed an nsttutonalrelatonshp wth ASEANand ganed the opportunty to urther deepen ts poltcal,

economc and cultural relatons wth the regon.



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Smlarly there have been eortsto deepen relatons wth Malaysa.

Relatons between urkey and Malaysahave developed on mutual trust,cooperaton and sympathy, and thesetwo countres have supported each othern several nternatonal organzatons

where possble. Generally there are nopoltcal problems that would adversely aect urksh-Malaysan relatons.38

Malaysa, whch s a leadng membero ASEAN, has played an nfuentalrole n regonal organzatons n South

Asa. Te cooperaton between urkey and Malaysa n the Unted Natons, theOrganzaton o the Islamc Conerence,and the D-8 s also strong. Malaysa surkey’s seventh largest trade partner

n the Far East and the blateral tradevolume has rsen rom a modest 242mllon dollars n 2000 to 1.1 bllondollars n 2009. In ths context, durngMalaysan Prme Mnster Najb AbdulRazak’s vst to urkey n February 2011,there was a jont decson to abolshthe vsa requrements between the two

countres, whch s expected to urtherstrengthen the blateral relatons.

Relatons wth MuslmCountres and the Uyghur

Queston

It s possble to evaluate urkey’srelatons wth the Muslm countresn Asa under three categores. Frst,steps to strengthen urkey’s relatons

wth countres lke Indonesa andMalaysa, wth whch urkey generally

has good relatons, have been taken.Second, contrbutng to the economcdevelopment o countres lke Bangladesh

whch experences economc dculteshas been amongst urkey’s prortes.Trd, relatons wth Aghanstan, neverseems to leave the nternatonal and thePakstan-urkey relatons, whch were

n a complcated state ater the nvasono Aghanstan, have hstorcally beenpostve and strong. urkey has workedto assume a problem-solvng role and tocontrbute to these countres wthn thscontext.

Followng Prme Mnster Erdoğan’svst to Indonesa n 2005 to deepen

economc relatons, the trade volumebetween the two countres has showna sgncant rse compared to prevousyears. For example, n 2008 the tradevolume ncreased by 64% compared tothe prevous year. Eorts to make theDevelopng 8 (D-8) more actve andurkey’s partnershp o dalogue wth

ASEAN have the potental to deepenurksh-Indonesan relatons.

Relatons between urkey and Malaysa have developedon mutual trust, cooperatonand sympathy, and these twocountres have supported eachother n several nternatonalorganzatons




131

Erdoğan, who vsted Aghanstan nNovember 2005, was the rst urksh

prme mnster to vst Aghanstan.urkey sent troops to the regon wthnthe context o the Internatonal Securty and Ad Forces (ISAF) conducted by NAO ollowng the 11 Septemberterrorst attacks. urkey, whchcontrbuted wth 300 troops n 2001

when ISAF was ounded, has, unlkeother NAO countres, dented tstroops as non-combatant orces.40

urkey took command o ISAFtwce, between June 2002 and February 2003 and agan between February and

August 2005, and ncreased ts numbero troops durng the process. Also, ormerForegn Mnster Hkmet Çetin servedor two terms as NAO’s Senor CvlanRepresentatve between January 2004and August 2006, and urkey’s success nths perod led to an ncrease n supportor urkey’s greater role n ths process nboth Aghanstan and n nternatonalpublc opnon. oday urkey contrbutesaround 1,800 personnel to ISAF. In ths

context, urkey took over the KabulRegonal Command or the second

urkey was one o the rst countresto recognze Bangladesh’s ndependence

and has placed a partcular mportanceon the country. However, the transtono ths mportance nto a meannguleconomc and poltcal partnershphas only been possble n recentyears. Wthn the context o urkey’s

Asa openng, Presdent Gül vstedBangladesh n February 2010. Durngths vst, meetngs on new cooperatonopportuntes were held and decsonsespecally towards mprovng economcrelatons were made. In December 2010urksh Arlnes started drect fghts tothe captal Dhaka. Te blateral tradevolume, whch amounted to only 47mllon dollars n 2002, ncreased to 658mllon dollars n 2009, and 3 bllon

by 2015 s targeted. Prme MnsterErdoğan, who vsted Bangladesh nNovember 2010, was the rst urkshPrme Mnster to vst ths country n21 years. Followng the meetngs a jontdecson to urther ncrease relatonsn health, educaton and the deencendustry was made.39

Although urksh-Aghan relatonshave always been good due to the strongethnc and hstorcal tes between thetwo countres, relatons between urkey and Aghanstan have reached a new levelsnce 2001. Hamd Karza, who vstedurkey or the rst tme n Aprl 2002,attended meetngs wth the then Prme

Mnster Bülent Ecevt and Presdent Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Prme Mnster

Te trlateral summt among Aghanstan, Pakstan andurkey, whch was ntatedby urkey, has become anmportant platorm towards

ndng solutons to problems.



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October 2009 vst to Pakstan, or therst tme, relatons between the two

countres were elevated to a strategclevel wth the oundng o a Councl o Hgh Level Strategc Cooperaton. Onthe other hand, Presdent Gül vstedPakstan between 30 March and 2

Aprl 2010 and held meetngs towardsmprovng blateral economc andcommercal relatons.

urkey, through İKA, runs severalprojects or the economc developmento Pakstan. Numerous urksh non-governmental organzatons operate nPakstan. For example, urksh rele agences played an mportant role ndealng wth the catastrophc foodng o

August 2010. In the same perod, Prme

Mnster Erdoğan vsted the area andpromsed ad and assstance. However,the real contrbuton urkey tres tomake to regonal and global peace s thetrlateral meetng that brngs together

Aghanstan and Pakstan. In the annual Aghanstan-urkey-Pakstan rlateralSummt meetngs that started n 2007,

countres are represented at the head o state level. Whlst the agenda s shapedby derent ssues each year, dalogue,economc cooperaton, securty andeducaton stands out. Followng theFth Summt, organzed n Istanbul on24 December 2010, concrete steps nmuch wder areas were taken. Te real

goal o the rlateral Summt Process sto prevent Aghanstan’s solaton and

tme or one year n November n 2009and has agreed to extend one more year

later on. urkey leads actve operatonsn the elds o development and urbanplannng besdes ts contrbutonsto securng saety. Set up n Wardak provnce 40 km west o Kabul, theurksh Provncal Reconstructon eam,the only provncal reconstructon teamn Aghanstan managed by a cvlandplomat, has, wth the support o

İKA, undertaken around 200 projectsn the last our years.

urkey, wth ts contrbutons n Aghanstan, has become a country whose expertse s sought n the world. Te act that urkey s nvtedto numerous nternatonal meetngs,ncludng the Shangha CooperatonOrgansaton’s March 2009 Aghanstanspecal meetng, s an ndcator o ths. Also the trlateral summt among

Aghanstan, Pakstan and urkey, whch was ntated by urkey, has become anmportant platorm towards ndngsolutons to regonal problems.41

urkey has hstorcally attached agreat mportance to ts relatons wthPakstan, the only Islamc country wthnuclear weapons. Presdent Gül vstedPakstan n December 2007. Just a yearlater, Pakstan Presdent As Al Zardarvsted urkey. In the past ew years,urkey has shown a strong poltcal wlln dversyng and urtherng blateral

relatons. Wth urkey’s actve eorts,durng Prme Mnster Erdoğan’s 24-26




133

o openng to all regons o the world wth the goal o redenng urkey’s

role n the world n accordance wththe changng poltcal and economccondtons and ncreasng ts nfuence.

Arca and Asa are mportant n thesense o globalzng these openngs,

whch not only led urkey to mprovngts relatons wth dstant regons butalso globalsng urksh poltcs n a realsense. Te act that economc relatonsespecally have been deepenng wth key countres, lke Chna and Inda n Asa,and South Arca and Ngera n Arca,s an ndcator that these openngs andconvergences wll have a long-term eecton urksh oregn polcy.

When compared wth Sub-Saharan Arca, urkey’s mage n Asan countreshas been avourable all along. However,as a result o the actve openngsundertaken snce 2002, urkey’s mage

n Arca has radcally changed and tspostve mage amongst Asan countres

to produce permanent solutons n theareas o securty and stablty wth the

help o neghbourng countres.One o the most perplexng subjects

n urksh oregn polcy s the Uyghurqueston. Te development that hasclearly caused ths s urkey’s atttudetowards the events n whch more than150 Uyghur people were klled n Easturkstan on July 2009. Ts event

ncreased East urkstan’s weght nurkey’s agenda. urkey reraned rompoltcal statements to avod rasngtensons wth Chna but crtczedChna usng strngent and precautonary language towards the regon. Inaccordance wth ts general oregn polcy understandng o not meddlng nto other

countres’ nternal aars, urkey usedcareul language, but approached thematter rom a human rghts perspectveand respect or Chna’s terrtoralntegrty. It s necessary to emphaszethat ths approach was apprecated by Chna, the clearest ndcator o whch

was the Chnese Prme Mnster Wen

Jabao’s vst to urkey not long aterthe events and Foregn Mnster AhmetDavutoğlu’s vst to East urkstan andChna n November 2010.

Concluson and the Futureo the Openngs

urksh oregn polcy durng the AK Party era has entered a new process

Te act that economc relatonsespecally have been deepenng wth key countres, lke Chnaand Inda n Asa, and South Arca and Ngera n Arca, san ndcator that these openngsand convergences wll have along-term eect on urkshoregn polcy.



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workng on Arca and Asa s very lmted and that urksh resources are

nsucent are the prncpal problems tobe dealt wth n the uture. Especally, thelack o normaton and contguty wthurkey n the Far East and Sub-Saharan

Arca can cause the countres n theregon to vew urkey wth cauton andmsnterpret urkey’s well ntentonedpolces. Especally student and academc

exchange programmes are the easest way to solve ths problem. Gven the rsngnterest n Arca and Asa, organzngestvals, conerences and concerts nvarous elds wll strengthen the socaloundatons o these openngs.

has been renorced. Some o the key countres n both contnents, such as

South Arca, Chna and Inda, whlstprevously adoptng a cold stancetowards Ankara, have changed therapproaches n the past years. Te act thatthese countres have a specal nterest nurkey shows that the current oregnpolcy and publc dplomacy have beenexceptonally successul.

Despte postve developments ncommercal, poltcal and other areas,the bggest problem that stll perssts nurkey’s relatons wth Asa and Arca slack o normaton. Both the act thatthe number o experts and academcs




135

Endnotes

1 For more on the legacy o urgut Özal n urksh oregn polcy, see Muhttn Ataman, “LeadershpChange: Özal’s Leadershp and Restructurng n urksh Foregn Polcy”, Alternatives: urkish Journal o International Relations, Vol. 7, No. 1 (2008), pp. 120-153.

2 Bülent Aras and Ayln Görener, “Natonal Role Conceptons and Foregn Polcy Orentaton: TeIdeatonal Bases o the Justce and Development Party’s Foregn Polcy -Actvsm n the Mddle East”,

Journal o Balkan and Near Eastern Studies , Vol. 12, No. 1 (2010), pp. 79-81.

3 Ahmet Davutoğlu, “urkey’s New Foregn Polcy Vson: An Assessment o 2007”, Insight urkey ,Vol. 10, No. 1 (2008), pp. 77-96.

4 Ahmet Davutoğlu, “ürkye Merkez Ülke Olmalı”, Radikal , 26 February 2004.

5 Melha B. Altunışık, “Worldvews and urksh Foregn Polcy n the Mddle East”, New Perspectives onurkey, No. 40 (2009), pp. 171-194.

6 Ahmet Davutoğlu, “Principles o urkish Foreign Policy ”, Address by H.E. Foregn Mnster o Republco urkey at the SEA Foundaton’s Washngton D.C. Branch, 8 December 2009, at http://www.setadc.org/mages/stores/ood/FM%20o%20urkey%20A.Davutoglu%20Address%20at%20SEA-DC%2012-08-2009.pd [last vsted 25 December 2009].

7 Ibd.

8 Ts part o the artcle drawns on the ollowng artcles: Mehmet Özkan, urkey Discovers Arica:Implications and Prospects, SEA Polcy Bre, No. 22, Ankara, SEA, 2008; Mehmet Özkan, “WhatDrves urkey’s nvolvement n Arca?”, Review o Arican Political Economy , Vol. 37, No. 126 (2010),pp. 533-540; Mehmet Özkan, “urkey’s Rsng Role n Arca”, urkish Policy Quarterly , Vol. 9, No. 4(2010/2011), pp. 93-105; Mehmet Özkan and Brol Akgün, “urkey’s Openng to Arca”, Te Journal o Modern Arican Studies , Vol. 48, No. 4 (November 2010), pp. 525- 546.

9 Al Babacan, “Global rends and urkish Foreign Policy ”, Speech at the Ambassadors Conerence, 15 July 2008, Ankara, at http://www.ma.gov.tr/the-openng-statement-othe-mnster-o–oregn-aars-al-babacan–at-the-ambassadors-conerence-blkent-hotel-andconerence–center_15-july-2008_-_-_global-trends-and-turksh-oregn-polcy__.en.ma. [Last vsted 18 July 2008].

10 Davut Dursun, Ortadoğu Neresi , İstanbul, İnsan, 1995.

11 For example, see Ahmet Uçar, Güney Arika’da Osmanlılar: 140 Yıllık Miras , İstanbul, ez, 2000.

12 See Ahmet Kavas, Arika Raporu, Stratejk Rapor No. 4, İstanbul, ASAM, 2005; and Osmanlı-Arikaİlişkileri, İstanbul, ASAM, 2006.

13 Mehmet Özkan, urkey Discovers Arica.

14 Numan Hazar, “Te Future o urksh-Arcan Relatons”, Dış Politika, Vol. 25, No. 3-4 (2000), pp.109-110.

15 Hazar, “Te Future o urksh-Arcan Relatons”, p. 110.

16 See om Wheeler, urkey and South Arica: Development o Relations 1860-2005 . SAIIA Report No. 47, Johannesburg, SAIIA, 2005; Musa Şahn, “Formaton o Cape Colonal Communty and Ottomanurksh Exstence n South Arca”, Pakistan Journal o Social Sciences , Vol. 3, No. 9 (2006), pp. 1129-



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136

1137; and Serhat Orakçı, “Te Emergng Lnks between the Ottoman Empre and South Arca”,International Journal o urkish Studies , Vol. 14, No. 1-2 (2008), pp. 47-60.

17 Orhan Koloğlu, Hicaz Demiryolu, (1900-1908) Amacı, Finansmanı, Sonucu, Çağını YakalayanOsmanlı, Istanbul, IRCICA, 1995, pp. 220-222.

18 See Selm Argun, Te Lie and Contribution o the Osmanli Scholar, Abu Bakr Efendi: owards Islamic Tought and Culture in South Arica, unpublshed Master thess, Johannesburg: Rand ArkaansUnversty, 2005; Serhat Orakçı, Te Ottoman Legacy in South Arica: A Historical Analysis o the Emerging Links between South Arica and the Ottoman Empire between 1861-1923, Lap Lambert,Germany, 2011.

19 Altunışık, “Worldvews and urksh Foregn Polcy n the Mddle East”, p. 174.

20 Hazar, “Te Future o urksh-Arcan Relatons”, p. 110.

21 See Salh Z. Karaca, “urksh Foregn Polcy n the Year 2000 and Beyond: Her Openng up Polcy to Arca”, Dış Politika, Vol. 25, No. 3-4 (2000), pp. 115-119.

22 It s, unortunately, not possble to get a copy o ths plan rom the webste o the Foregn Mnstry.However, or a comprehensve summary o the plan see Hazar, “Te Future o urksh-ArcanRelatons”, pp. 111-113.

23 See Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, “Etyopya mı?”, Sabah, 3 March 2005; Özdem Sanberk, “Gül Dönemnde ürk Dış Poltkası”, Radikal , 21 August 2007.

24 Özkan, “What Drves urkey’s nvolvement n Arca?”.

25 Özkan, urkey Discovers Arica: Implications and Prospects.26 Ibd.

27 Özkan and Akgün, “urkey’s Openng to Arca”, pp.539-540.

28 Özkan and Akgün, “urkey’s Openng to Arca”, pp.540-542.

29 Ibd.

30 See Mehmet Özkan, Can the Rise o ‘New’ urkey Lead to a ‘New’ Era in India-urkey Relations?, IDSA Issue Bre, 20 September 2010, New Delh, IDSA.

31 Mehmet Özkan, “Inda Can Do More n Central Asa”, Te Gul News , 26 October 2010.

32 Selçuk Çolakoğlu, urkey and China: Seeking a Sustainable Partnership, SEA Polcy Bre, No. 41, Ankara, SEA.

33 “ürkye ve Çn tcaretnde L ve Yuan Kullanılacak, Dolar Devre Dışı Kalacak”, Hürryet, 9 October2010, at www.hurryet.com.tr/ekonom/15997675.asp. [Last vsted 15 March 2011].

34 Bülent Kılıç, “urkey, Chna and the Ughur Connecton”, oday’s Zaman, 29 October 2010.

35 See Mehmet Özkan, “urkey-Chna Mltary Drll Reveals Deepenng es, Wdenng Reach”, WPR:World Politics Review , 22 October 2010.

36 Selçuk Çolakoğlu, “ürkye’nn Kore Poltkası Açılımı”, 11 September 2009, at www.sde.org.tr/tr/

haberler/66/turkyenn-kore-poltkas-aclm.aspx [Last vsted 20 March 2011].

37 Ibrahm Kalın, “urkey and Japan: A Worthwhle Partnershp”, oday’s Zaman, 28 January 2011.




38 See Bülent Aras, Kenan Dağcı and M. Ee Çaman, “urkey’s New Actvsm n Asa”, Alternatives:urkish Journal o International Relations , Vol. 8, No. 2 (2009), pp. 24-39.

39 See “urkey, Bangladesh Sgn Deals”, 14 November 2010, at www.worldbulletn.net/ndex.php?aype=haber&ArtcleID=66313 [Last vsted 15 March 2011].

40 Sevnç A. Özcan, “ABD’nn Aganstan Operasyonu ve ürk Dış Poltkası”, Avrasya Etüdleri , Vol. 12,No. 27-28 (2005), pp. 33-75.

41 Muharrem Ekş, “urkey’s Increasng Role n Aghanstan”, Journal o Global Analysis , Vol. 1, No. 2.(2010), pp. 139-152.

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