The Evolution of Turkey’s Asia Policy in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

Abstract

Turkey’s transition from a Western foreign policy template to a ‘multidimensional foreign policy’ has brought Asia-Turkey relations once again into focus. However, the transition is yet to find a strategic convergence by accommodating Asian powers in a way that does not destabilise Turkey’s relations with the West. This paper argues that Turkey’s increased attention on Asia, now through its rebranded Asia Anew approach, is to be determined by three factors: first, the changes in ideological fault-lines within Turkey have helped reset its foreign policy; second, the changing global balance of power between the West and the rest in which the role of Russia, China and India has grown globally and regionally; and thirdly, Asia’s internal struggle for global and regional leadership mainly between India and China and bilateral competitions such as the triangle of Pakistan, India and China. The paper also argues that Turkey’s assertive politics in Syria, Libya, Qatar, and elsewhere in the Middle East, Mediterranean and the Balkan, and its increasing soft power are also factoring in their Turkish perspectives. Turkey’s quest for an upgraded relationship with Asia to strategic levels depends on how Turkey engages, not just bilaterally, but also how it accommodates the Asian perspective of international politics represented by collective visions of SCO, BRICS and other regional groups which are so visibly critical of the West, of which Turkey is a longtime ally.