Turkish Army and Military Industry Presence in Africa

Abstract

Turkey puts an emphasis on the African connections in general and also strengthening its military connection with the African countries. The economic, diplomatic, cultural partnerships of Turkey and Africa are more discussed but the security, army and military industry connection between Ankara and the African countries is less captured, according to some experts, so now we put the dimension of security, army and military industry in the centre of our study. Turkish army and military industry is present in Africa in various forms: Turkey is supporting international peacekeeping missions in Africa, Turkish military export is growing on the continent, Ankara is making defence, military agreements with several African country, Turkish army has training programs for African soldiers. And lastly the Turkish army is present in two countries: Libya, where Turkish troops support the government in the civil war, and in Somalia, where they are operating a military training camp. We would like to study through these actions how Turkey is connected to African countries and analyze whether these are individual actions that connect Ankara and the African countries or they indicate levels of deepening connections.