Turkey' Security Landscape Profile in 2020

Turkey is focused on reforms at home and fresh starts in the international arena. Ankara’s efforts to repair its relations with the United States, the European Union, France, Greece and certain Middle Eastern nations, however, are not necessarily about making revisions or getting soft. The current process is of interest to all capitals, including Washington. All players are doing their homework with the sense that the world is on the brink of a new era.

Strategic Flexibility under Geopolitical Anxiety

Joe Biden will officially become president of the United States this week. Washington, D.C., has been on high alert, even in the final days of the controversial transition period. The National Guard, which has been stationed at the Capitol Building to prevent a second attack by outgoing President Donald Trump’s supporters, became the latest symbol of America’s deeply divided democracy.

A year ago, the world was expecting different things from the year 2020. There were already too many unknowns about world affairs. U.S. President Donald Trump and his presidential style generated too many uncertainties about U.S. foreign policy and international relations.

2020 was really an interesting year. It has influenced almost every aspect of life, including international politics. Overall, 2020 has caused vital damage to all states; no state escaped from its detrimental effects.

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.

Sharing similar concerns in the region, Ankara and Baghdad have opened a new page in cooperation, which is particularly bad news for PKK terrorists

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.

French President Emanuel Macron has been trying to bring back France's shiny past and become the dominant European power, bypassing Germany, the continent's main heavyweight. He is also claiming a central position in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as in Western Africa. However, he follows an unusual policy in order to achieve his objectives.

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

In recent years, the European Union has managed to overcome severe crises and inspire new candidates to full membership despite the unexpected Brexit decision. The union is still seen as a hub of peace and prosperity in spite of the gradual rise of extremist ideologies in the continent and European economies' declining role in global economic activity.

The current international system is in deep crisis because its main actors, including the U.S. and many other Western countries, do not respect its principles. Most Western countries nowadays have put aside the main principles of the international system, namely liberal democracy and the liberal economy.

Western countries have been dominating world politics for the last five centuries. Their foreign policies have been based on realpolitik, politics based on practical situations and needs, rather than on moral principles or ideas. Therefore, they can instrumentalize everything and violate basic principles of law to achieve their political and economic objectives, especially when they are stuck.

President-elect Biden's repetition of Obama's wrongdoings in foreign policy in the Middle East could further tarnish the U.S.' international image

Various geopolitical issues, in which Turkey has taken active steps in recent years, are quickly developing and on two key fronts, the conflict has given way to reconciliation.