Panel I: Emerging / Shared Concerns and Prerequisites for Türkiye and Greece

The Good Party (IP) Chairperson Meral Akşener continues to confront the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the “table for six.” Recalling that she “drank the hemlock” for Kılıçdaroğlu’s victory, she recently said that “there is no such thing as the Nation Alliance anymore” and that “the IP and CHP are rivals.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s trip to New York highlighted the question of United Nations reform anew.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s address at the 78th United Nations General Assembly provided a profound insight into the global and regional priorities that guide Turkish foreign policy. In an era marked by escalating global and regional power rivalries, growing global uncertainties and a changing regional geopolitical landscape prevalent with security challenges, Türkiye faces the imperative of redefining its foreign policy.

The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) hosted a workshop on Friday that drew attention to the threat of racism and xenophobia targeting international students.

In a world marked by escalating global power struggles and growing uncertainty, the United Nations, as the foremost international organization, will once again take center stage at the upcoming General Assembly. Unsurprisingly, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will abstain from attending, as has been their custom during the annual New York gathering each September.

The G-20 Summit in New Delhi, India – whose main theme was “One Earth, One Family, One Future” – was the focal point of diplomacy last week. Notably missing Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Summit could not have produced a joint declaration for the first time.

Recent developments in Syria show that the dynamics caused by the civil war are still in effect as demonstrations against the Bashar Assad regime continue due to economic dissatisfaction and clashes between local Arab tribes and the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian presence YPG accelerate.

Türkiye has been facing many vital challenges since the end of the Cold War, especially in the last decade. Türkiye tried to overcome these challenges together with its allies. There was a high level of cooperation between Ankara and its Western allies during the first decade of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) governments.

Successfully managing the risk of a confrontation in Syria, the two leaders strengthened their cooperation in a broad range of areas, including energy, tourism and defense. As the bilateral trade volume reached $69 billion, the two nations set a new target of $100 billion. Against the backdrop of the construction of Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, there are ongoing talks over the possibility of building another plant in Sinop.

It is no secret that the opposition Good Party (IP), the Victory Party (ZP) and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) fueled xenophobia in Türkiye with reference to Syrian asylum-seekers and illegal migration ahead of the May 2023 elections. The opposition’s joint presidential candidate and CHP chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, built his campaign around anti-refugee sentiment – which effectively triggered the negative side effects of the cost of living. It seems highly likely that the CHP and the rest will resort to the same tactics for next year’s municipal elections.

In his addresses on the occasion of the Aug. 30 Victory Day, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan frequently underscored the imperative of bolstering Türkiye’s military prowess, emphasizing that this stance is not a mere option but a necessity. He avered: “Our bitter experiences have taught us that a robust Türkiye hinges on a strong military. Enhancing the deterrent capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is not a choice; it’s a necessity for our nation.” While historically, the discourse “strong army, strong Türkiye” was largely employed within the context of Kemalist military narrative to establish the TSK’s supremacy over Turkish politics and reinforce its superior position over political matters, Erdoğan reinterprets it as a pivotal component of a more expansive political narrative.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan paid an important visit to Iraq between Aug. 22-24. Iraq is one of the most strategic countries in the neighboring geography for Türkiye in terms of the fight against terrorism, energy geopolitics, economic relations, internal stability and rivalry between the countries in the region. Therefore, Fidan’s visit is quite critical before President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's expected visit to Iraq.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Budapest on Sunday, along with heads of state and government from the Turkic states, the Balkans and Qatar, on the occasion of Hungary's national day.

Türkiye has continued where it left off after the last presidential and parliamentarian elections. The Turkish political leadership has been continuously struggling to increase its strategic autonomy in international politics and to build different axes of stability in regions, reflecting its multilateral foreign policy understanding. When looking at the most recent visit to Ankara and Turkish visits to other countries, we can see that Türkiye will continue to invest in regionalism and minilateralism in the near future.

For a considerable period, Türkiye and Syria have engaged in discussions aimed at reshaping their bilateral relationship into a new framework. Most recently, a diplomatic meeting took place in Moscow in April involving foreign ministers from both countries, along with Russia and Iran. However, since April, the trajectory of these talks has become increasingly uncertain. This uncertainty has been shaped by the complex nature of the Syrian conflict, the divergent priorities of the external actors, the strategically ambiguous behavior of the Bashar Assad regime and the lack of capacity of the state of Syria. Other dynamics exist that make the talks between Türkiye and Syria more difficult to reach the real objectives of the negotiations process.

Established to tackle the political and economic crises of the 1990s, the AK Party encountered many challenges. It opted for what was possible and rational as opposed to ideology to skillfully analyze the future of world politics.