Strategic Flexibility under Geopolitical Anxiety

The COVID-19 pandemic dominated the year 2020, as the world encountered a great test on health care, economy and humanity. Several countries confiscated each other’s personal protective equipment (PPE) and went down in the history of shame. Against the backdrop of all the chatter about “the new normal” and “nothing will be the same again,” the truth is that power competition in the international system has escalated even further.

2021 will be an essential year for Turkey's foreign policy agenda and practice. Reforms, renewal and forward-looking perspectives are likely to be the focal points of Ankara's foreign policy this year. However, Turkey's structural challenges and diverging issues with key allies like the United States and some European countries are unlikely to see immediate resolutions.

The wave of democratization, which began with the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, took down the authoritarian leaders of Egypt, Libya and Yemen. Whereas the uprising in Bahrain was crushed thanks to Saudi Arabia’s military intervention, Iran and Russia ensured the survival of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria.

Iran's ruling elite has translated a poem that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recited in Baku, Azerbaijan, into political tension. While politicians made aggressive statements, Iranian media outlets accused the Turkish leader of pursuing a leadership role in the Muslim world and a policy of Ottomanism and pan-Turkism. Others claimed Ankara was fueling separatism in Iran, putting the country's territorial integrity at risk.

Since the U.S. elections, there have been optimistic analyses about the future of trans-Atlantic relations. Leaders of the European Union were among the first to call President-elect Joe Biden to congratulate him on his victory. They expressed hope of reviving the partnership between allies on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ankara's foreign policy moves are not motivated by maximalist claims, but a geopolitical necessity to protect its security, interests

In his inauguration speech following the resignation of his predecessor President Richard Nixon, former U.S. President Gerald Ford said, "my fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."

To be clear, Turkey is actively involved in not just regional but also global issues. Ankara intends to remain part of those conversations, too. The driving force behind Turkey's actions is the challenges of geopolitics and the responsibilities they entail – as opposed to ideology.

It’s a joke when President Macron says ‘We are one’ while excluding Muslims, human rights activist tells Anadolu Agency

The latest escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh reignited anti-Turkey rhetoric in the international arena. Turkey, under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's leadership, threw its weight behind Azerbaijan to help the country reclaim its Armenian-occupied territories.

Turkey has been upgrading its status in international politics and has recently achieved a higher degree of autonomy in its foreign policy. The stronger Turkey gets, the more threats it faces from friendly countries as well as adversarial actors, and the more it is otherized by foreign governments.

After U.S. President Donald Trump had the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain sign the Abraham Accords on Sept. 15 at the White House, people have been wondering which Arab country will be next.

The French president seems to forget that people in the region already know that France is not a regional power and indeed, has colonial fantasies.

After the formalization or normalization of bilateral relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, many observers began to discuss the agreement's impact on Middle Eastern politics and the Arab World. It seems that the biggest impact will be on the future of the “political Arab world,” which collapsed in the wake of the Arab insurgencies and revolutions during the Arab Spring.

During a meeting with the editors of The New York Times seven months ago, former U.S. Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden labeled President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan an “autocrat” and criticized Turkey for its constructive relations with Moscow and policies over northeastern Syria.

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) celebrated its 19th birthday earlier this week. Over the course of its history, the movement has single-handedly governed Turkey – an accomplishment that has eluded all others in the history of the country’s multi-party democracy.