The Turkey-Africa Bromance: Key Drivers, Agency, and Prospects

Abstract

Turkish-African relations have consistently exhibited strong growth since Ankara declared 2005 as ‘the year of Africa.’ Turkey’s growing economic, political, and security involvement in Africa reflects Ankara’s need to establish new markets for its manufactured goods and its defense and armaments industry and present itself as a relevant regional and global actor different from traditional Western players on the continent. African countries have been astute in their engagement with Ankara in terms of exercising leverage in the evolving Turkish-African partnership. They seek to attract Turkish foreign direct investment, diversify economic and political partners to reduce dependency and fuel their state-building projects. Ankara’s domestic economic woes notwithstanding, Turkey’s growing footprint in Africa will likely continue to produce positive results for both sides.