Turkey in 2020: Regional power and global actor
The title of my last Daily Sabah column from last year was: “Turkey in 2019: From an Emerging Economy to an Emerging Power.” The article showed how, over the course of just one year, Turkey proved that its economy was robust enough to resist the sustained economic and political attacks inflicted upon it over the last several years and that its military is strong enough to influence global multilateral platforms and sit at the negotiation table as an equal partner with some of the most influential global powers, including the United States and Russia.
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Turkey's three key steps in the Eastern Mediterranean
Turkey took three crucial steps in late 2019 to tilt the balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean. Those military and diplomatic measures, which the country took in the Mediterranean theater to strengthen its hand at the negotiating table, indicate that the Libya question will fare as prominently in Turkey's agenda as the Syria file.
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With the decision to deploy troops, Turkey affirmed its plans to remain active in the region and its determination to stand its ground
Despite large-scale developments, changes since start of decade, some problems triggering start of uprisings in Arab countries still exist
Renegade general Khalifa Haftar, who claims to be the commander of a militia called the Libyan National Army (LNA), is attacking the Libyan capital of Tripoli in a renewed attempt to take down the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is going through a major structural transformation in the last decade. This transformation is closely related to the transformation of power balance in the global scene.
US becoming a 'concerned' superpower
Miscalculated steps in foreign policy have already changed the U.S.' image as one of the most 'concerned' world powers
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In Libya, cooperating with Turkey is Europe's best shot
The fall of Tripoli could undermine European energy security and unleash a new refugee wave on already overwhelmed countries
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Another significant issue that is threatening the entire region is the escalating crisis in Libya.
Insight Turkey, one of the leading academic journals in Turkey, in its latest issue entitled as “Turkey’s New Foreign Policy: A Quest for Autonomy,” resonates on the importance of Turkey’s increasing role and effectiveness in the international realm.
It is now a well-known fact that the focus of the great power rivalry in international relations is about to shift toward the Asia Pacific. For many observers of world politics, the competition between the U.S. and China on issues ranging from trade to the South China Sea will make this region the center of attention in the next few decades.
This study examines how terrorist organizations use UAV technology by learning from each other and analyzes their adaptation processes.
The Syrian civil war has been a focal point for Turkish foreign policy makers since 2013. The conflict’s spillover effects, including a heightened threat of terrorism and a refugee crisis, have come to define Turkey’s relations with the United States, Russia, NATO and the European Union. Likewise, Turkey’s response to the crisis has lain at the crux of all accusations leveled against the country, from its alleged "axis shift" to Russia to its assumed revival of the neo-Ottoman spirit.
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution on Thursday recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide. The measure, which President Donald Trump's allies in the Senate had repeatedly blocked, is not legally binding. It is merely a symbolic step. For the resolution, which Turkey strongly condemned, to become law, it must be adopted by the House of Representatives and signed by President Trump.
Turkey 'has pushed back' any challenge in region to itself or Northern Cyprus through Libya deal, says analyst
A new alliance is forming in the Eastern Mediterranean Region aiming to strike against Turkey's rising influence and naval power in the region. Economic arguments are being used to form a political alliance against Turkey.
With the recent Libya deal, Turkey signaled that it will not step back from defending its regional rights against other actors in the Eastern Mediterranean
The traditional notion of the 'Western alliance' is no longer relevant for Ankara, which has instead adopted a more effective approach dominated by its own diplomatic agenda
The NATO leaders' meeting went better than expected. In the alliance's final communique, released after talks concluded on Dec. 4, nations reiterated their commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, stressed the importance of financial burden-sharing and underlined their intention to seek a common position regarding migration, as well as a united front on cyber and hybrid threats. Noting Russian aggression as posing a possible threat, NATO members called for dialogue with Moscow on intermediate-range missiles. Furthermore, as per Washington's request, the organization hinted it would be turning its attention to the Asia-Pacific region, in a nod to Beijing's expanding influence.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is attending the NATO Leaders Meeting in London on Wednesday, after a series of meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday. Following NATO's 70th anniversary celebrations, Erdoğan will inaugurate a local mosque in Cambridge.
NATO will celebrate its 70th birthday on Dec. 4 in London. The celebratory summit, which 29 world leaders plan to attend, is expected to be somewhat painful. The trans-Atlantic alliance, which has major accomplishments under its belt, is deeply divided over the diverging interests of its members.
