Turkish Foreign Policy Towards Central Asia: An Unfolding of Regionalism and Soft Power

Year 2023, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 195 - 218, 16.06.2023

Hayriye Kahveci Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant

https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.1310530

Abstract

The end of the Cold War brought about new challenges and opportunities for
Turkey in redesigning its foreign policy. The independence of the Central Asian
countries, with which Turkey shares common cultural, historical, and linguistic
features, prompted Turkey to rapidly adapt to the new environment in the post-
Cold War world order. After three decades, Turkey’s engagement with the Central
Asian republics has gradually increased and reached a level at which Turkey
is capable of effectively combining its soft and hard power capabilities within
regional parameters. This article critically analyzes 30 years of Turkish foreign
policy in Central Asia with a focus on its regionalism and soft power elements. We
argue that Central Asia has provided a unique opportunity for Turkey to reshape
its foreign policy on regional terms by utilizing its soft power resources for the
first time, the experience later serving as a model for other regions.

Keywords

Turkey, foreign policy, regionalism, soft power, Central Asia, post-Cold War

References

• Altunışık, Meliha B. “The Possibilities and Limits of Turkey’s Soft Power in the Middle East.” Insight Turkey 10, no.2 (2008): 41–54.
• Amirbek, Aidarbek, Almasbek Anuarbekuly, and Kanat Makhanov. “Türk Dili Konuşan Ülkeler Entegrasyonu: Tarihsel Gelişimi ve Kurumsallaşması [Turkic Speaking Countries' Integration: Its Historical Development and Institutionalization]." ANKASAM: Bölgesel Araştırmalar Dergisi 1, no. 3 (2017): 164-204.
• Aydın, Mustafa. “Foucault’s Pendulum: Turkey in Central Asia and the Caucasus.” Turkish Studies 5, no.2 (2004): 1–22.
• Aydın, Mustafa. “Kafkasya ve Orta Asya ile İlişkiler [Relations with the Caucasus and Central Asia].”In Türk Dış Politikası: Kurtuluş Savaşından Bugüne Olgular, Belgeler, Yorumlar [Turkish Foreign Policy: Facts, Documents, and Comments from the War of Independence to the Present], ed. Baskın Oran, 366-439. İstanbul, Turkey: İletişim Yayınları, vol. II, 12. ed., 2010.
• Aydın, Mustafa. “Türkiye'nin Orta Asya ve Kafkaslar Politikası [Turkey's Policy on Central Asia and the Caucasus]." In Küresel Politikada Orta Asya (Avrasya Üçlemesi I) [Central Asia in Global Politics (Eurasia Trilogy I), ed. Mustafa Aydın, 101-149. Ankara, Turkey: Nobel Yayınları, 2005. Balcı, Bayram, and Thomas Liles. “The Struggle over Central Asia Chinese-Russian Rivalry and Turkey’s Comeback.” Insight Turkey 20, no.4, (2018): 11-27.
• Balcı, Bayram, and Thomas Liles. “Turkey’s Religious Outreach in Central Asia and the Caucasus.” Current Trends in Islamist Ideology 16 (2014): 65-85.
• Bilgin, Mert. "Türkiye’nin İhracata Yönelik Politikalarında Avrasya’nın Önemi [The Importance of Eurasia in Turkey's Export-Oriented Policies]." In Türkiye’nin Avrasya Macerası 1989-2006 [Turkey's Eurasian Adventure 1989-2006], ed. Mustafa Aydın, 73-81. Ankara, Turkey: Nobel Yayınları, 2007.
• Bilgin, Pınar, and Ali Bilgiç. “Turkey’s New Foreign Policy towards Eurasia.” Eurasian Geography and Economics 52, no.2 (2011): 173-195.
• Bunce, Valery, and Sharon L. Wolchik. Defeating Authoritarian Leaders in Post-Communist Countries. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Calleya, Stephen. Regionalism in the Post-Cold War World. Aldershot, United Kingdom: Ashgate, 2000.
• Çetin, Nur. “Central Asian States’ Relations with Turkey (1991-2020).” In The Changing Perspectives of Central Asia in the 21st Century, edited by Murat Yorulmaz, and Serdar Yılmaz, 147-169. İstanbul, Turkey: Kriter Yayınları, 2020.
• Çevik, Sanem, “Reassessing Turkey’s Soft Power: The Rules of Attraction.” Alternatives: Global, Local, Political 44, no.1 (2019): 50-71.
• Demirtepe. Turgut and Güner Özkan. “Transformation of a Development Aid Agency: TİKA in a Changing Domestic and International Setting.” Turkish Studies 13, no.4 (2012): 647-664.
• Doolotkeldieva, Asel. “The 2020 Violent Change in Government in Kyrgyzstan amid the Covid-19 Pandemic: Three Distinct Stories in One.” In Between Peace and Conflict in the East and the West, edited by Anja Mihr, 157-174. (New York City, NY: Springer, 2021.
• Durmuş Mustafa, and Harun Yılmaz. “Son Yirmi Yılda Türkiye’nin Orta Asya’ya Yönelik Dış Politikası ve Bölgedeki Faaliyetleri [Turkey's Foreign Policy towards Central Asia in the Last Twenty Years and Activities]." in Bağımsızlıklarının Yirminci Yılında Orta Asya Cumhuriyetleri Türk Dilli Halklar-Türkiye ile İlişkileri [Central Asian Republics in the Twentieth Year of Their Independence, Turkic Speaking Peoples-Relations with Turkey], ed. Ayşegül Aydıngün and Çiğdem Balım, 483-587. Ankara, Turkey: Atatürk Kültür Merkezi Yayınları, 2012.
• Egresi, Istvan, and Fatih Kara. “Foreign Policy Influences on Outward Direct Investment: The Case of Turkey.” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 17, no.2 (2015): 181-203.
• Engin-Demir, Cennet and Pınar Akçalı. “Turkey’s Educational Policies in Central Asia and Caucasia: Perceptions of Policy Makers and Experts.” International Journal of Educational Development 32, no.1 (2012): 11-21.
• Fan, Ying. “Soft Power: Power of Attraction or Confusion?” Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 4, no. 2 (2008): 147–158.
• Fidan, Hakan. “Turkish Foreign Policy towards Central Asia.” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 12, no: 1 (2010): 109-121.
• Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey – DEİK. “Outbound Investment Index 2019.” DEİK. 2020. https://www.deik.org.tr/events-outbound-investments-index-2019-press-conference.
• Gökay, Bülent. Turkey in the Global Economy: Neoliberalism, Global Shift and Making of a Rising Power. Montreal, Canada: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2021.
• Gümüş, Burak. "Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı’nın Orta Asya’daki Faaliyetleri [Activities of the Directorate of Religious Affairs in Central Asia]." Sosyal ve Beşeri Bilimler Dergisi 2, no. 1 (2010): 1-8.
• Gümüş, Niyazi, Gülzira Zhaxyglova, and Maiya Mirzabekova. “Using Turkish Soap Operas (Tv Series) As A Marketing Communication Tool: A Research on Turkish Soap Operas in Kazakhstan.” International Journal of Eurasia Social Sciences 8, no.26 (2017): 390-407.
• Gündoğdu, Abdullah, and Cafer Güler. “Kazakistan’ın Bağımsızlığının Tanınma Süreci ve Türk Kamuoyundaki Yankıları [The Recognition Process of Kazakhstan's Independence and Its Repercussions in the Turkish Public].” A.Ü. Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi 36, no.61 (2017): 75-94.
• Hettne, Björn, Andras Inotai, and Osvaldo Sunkel. The New Regionalism and the Future of Security and Development. New York City, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
• İpek, Pınar. “Ideas and Change in Foreign Policy Instruments: Soft Power and the Case of the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency.” Foreign Policy Analysis 11, no.2 (2015): 173-193.
• Kaliber, Alper. “The Post-Cold War Regionalisms of Turkish Foreign Policy.” Journal of Regional Security 8, no.1 (2013): 25-48.
• Kalın, İbrahim. “Soft Power and Public Diplomacy in Turkey.” Perceptions 16, no. 3 (2011): 5-23.
• Karadağ, Haluk. “Forcing the Common Good: The Significance of Public Diplomacy in Military Affairs.” Armed Forces & Society, 43, no.1 (2017): 72–91.
• Karlıdağ, Serpil, and Selda Bulut. “The Transnational Spread of Turkish Television Soap Operas.” İstanbul Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Dergisi 47, no.2 (2014): 75-96.
• Kavak, Yüksel, and Gülsun A. Baskan. “Türkiye’nin Türk Cumhuriyetleri, Türk ve Akraba Topluluklarına Yönelik Eğitim Politika ve Uygulamaları [Training for Turkic Republics, Turkish and Related Communities of Turkey Politics and Practices]." Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi 20, no. 20 (2001): 92-103.
• Kedikli Umut, and Önder Çalağan. "Orta Asya'ya Yönelik Bir Yumuşak Güç Unsuru Olarak Kültür Politikaları [Cultural Policies as a Soft Power Element towards Central Asia]." Paper presented at 15. Uluslararası Türk Dünyası Sosyal Bilimler Kongresi Tebliğleri [Proceedings of the 15th International Turkic World Social Sciences Congress], İstanbul, Turkey, 2017, 655-670.
• Kelkitli, Fatma A. “The Meeting of the Crescent and the Dragon: Post-Cold War Sino-Turkish Rivalry and Cooperation in Central Asia and the Middle East.” OAKA Dergisi 9, no.17 (2014): 149-178.
• Keohane, Robert O. After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984.
• Khitakhunov, Azimzhan. “Trade between Turkey and Central Asia.” Eurasian Research Institute. February, 2021. https://www.eurasian-research.org/publication/trade-between-turkey-and-central-asia/.
• Kıdırali, Darhan. “Türk Konseyi (Türk Keneşi) [Turkic Council]." In Türk Cumhuriyetleri ve Topluluğu Yıllığı 2013 [Turkic Republics and Community Yearbook 2013] , ed. Murat Yılmaz and Turgut Demirtepe, 576-589. Ankara: Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2015.
• Kutlay, Mustafa, and Ziya Öniş. “Turkish Foreign Policy in a Post-Western Order: Strategic Autonomy or New Forms of Dependence?” International Affairs 97, no.4 (2021): 1085-1104.
• Larrabee, Stephen. “Turkey’s Eurasia Agenda.” The Washington Quarterly 34, no.1 (2011): 103-120.
• Mango, Andrew. “The Turkish Model.” Middle Eastern Studies 29, no.4 (1993): 726-757.
• “Nazarbayev Memnun Ayrıldı [Nazarbayev Departed with Satisfaction].” Milliyet. September 30, 1991.
• “No Turkish Soaps Please, We’re Uzbek.” Eurasianet. June 20, 2019. https://eurasianet.org/no-turkish-soapsplease-were-uzbek.
• Nye Jr., Joseph S. “Soft Power.” Foreign Policy, Autumn, no. 80 (1990): 153–171.
• Nye Jr., Joseph S. “Get Smart: Combining Hard and Soft Power.” Foreign Affairs 88, no. 4 (2009): 160-163
• Oğuzlu, Tarık. “Soft Power in Turkish Foreign Policy.” Australian Journal of International Affairs 61, no.1 (2007): 81–97.
• Ongur, Hakan Ö. “Identifying Ottomanisms: The Discursive Evolution of Ottoman Pasts in the Turkish Presents.” Middle Eastern Studies 51, no.3 (2015): 416–432.
• Özoğlu, Murat, Bekir Gür, and İpek Coşkun. Küresel Eğilimler Işığında Türkiye’de Uluslararası Öğrenciler [International Students in Turkey in Light of Global Trends]. Ankara, Turkey: Seta Yayınları, 2012.
• Parlar-Dal, Emel, and Emre Erşen. “Reassessing the ‘Turkish Model’ in the Post-Cold War Era: A Role Theory Perspective.” Turkish Studies 15, no.2 (2014): 258-282.
• Robins, Philip. Suits and Uniforms: Turkish Foreign Policy Since the Cold War. London United Kingdom: Hurst and Company, 2003.
• Rosecrance, Richard. “Regionalism and the Post-Cold War Era.” International Journal: Canada’s Journal of Global Policy Analysis 46, no. 3 (1991): 373-393.
• Sarı, Yaşar. “Türkiye-Orta Asya İlişkilerinde Sınırlı İşbirliği [Limited Cooperation in Turkey-Central Asian Relations].” In Ak Partinin 15 Yılı: Dış Politika [15 Years of the AK Party: Foreign Policy], ed. Kemal İnat, Ali Aslan, ve Burhanettin Duran, 357-381. İstanbul, Turkey: Seta Yayınları 2017.
• Sarıarslan, Kürşad M. “Türk Dili Konuşan Ülkeler Parlamenter Asamblesi (TÜRKPA) [Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries (TÜRKPA)]." In Türk Cumhuriyetleri ve Topluluğu Yıllığı 2013 [Turkic Republics and Community Yearbook 2013], ed. Murat Yılmaz and Turgut Demirtepe, 589-593. Ankara: Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2015.
• Şen, Mustafa. “Türkiye-Orta Asya Yatırım İlişkileri ve Bölgede Aktif Türk Girişimciler [Turkey-Central Asia Investment Relations and Turkish Entrepreneurs Active in the Region]." In Türkiye’nin Avrasya Macerası 1989-2006 [Turkey's Eurasian Adventure 1989-2006], ed. Mustafa Aydın, 109-141. İstanbul, Turkey: Nobel Yayın Dağıtım, 2007.
• Taşkömür, Fatima. “How Did Turkey-Uzbek Relations Improved after two decades of Stagnation?” TRT World. October 26, 2017. https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/how-did-turkey-uzbek-relations-improve-after-twodecades-of-stagnation--11677.
• The Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey – DEİK. “Turkey-Eurasia: Outward Foreign Direct Investments.” DEİK. May 15, 2020. https://deik.org.tr/uploads/avrasya-sekorel-rapor-revize-yenisi-min.pdf.
• Türkeş, Mustafa. “Decomposing Neo-Ottoman Hegemony.” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 18, no.3 (2016): 191–216.
• “Turkey Reaches out to Central Asia. Geopolitical Futures.” March 12, 2021. https://geopoliticalfutures.com/turkeyreaches-out-to-central-asia/.
• “Turkey’s Relations with Central Asian Republics.” Ministry of Turkish Foreign Affairs. April 10, 2020. https://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkiye_s-relations-with-central-asian-republics.en.mfa.
• Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency – TİKA. “Turkish Development Assistance Report 2019.” TİKA. 2020. https://www.tika.gov.tr/upload/sayfa/publication/2019/TurkiyeKalkinma2019WebENG.pdf.
• Turkish Higher Board of Education - YÖK. “Statistics on Foreign Students.” YÖK. https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr, (access date December 21, 2022).
• Turkish Ministry of National Education - MEB. Formal Education 2014/15 Statistics. Ankara, Turkey: Turkish Ministry of National Education MEB Publications, 2016.
• Tursunbayeva, Kanykei. “Central Asia’s Rulers View Turkish ‘Soap Operas’ with Suspicion.” Global Voices. August 7, 2014. https://globalvoices.org/2014/08/07/central-asias-rulers-view-turkish-soap-power-with-suspicion/.
• Urinboyev, Rustomjon, and Sherzod Eraliev. The Political Economy of Non-Western Migration Regimes: Central Asian Migrant Workers in Russia and Turkey. New York City, New York: Springer, 2022.
• Yeşiltaş, Murat. “Transformation of the Geopolitical Vision in Turkish Foreign Policy.” Turkish Studies 14, no.4 (2013): 661-687.
• Yildirim, Canan. “Turkey’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Trends and Patterns of Mergers and Acquisitions.” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 19, no.3 (2017): 276-293.
• Yılmaz, Baha A. “Soğuk Savaş Sonrası Dönemde Türk-Orta Asya İlişkilerinde Türk Keneşi’nin Rolü: Dönemler ve Değişim Dinamikleri [The Role of the Turkic Council in Turkish-Central Asian Relations in the Post-Cold War Period: Periods and Change Dynamics]." Barış Araştırmaları ve Çatışma Çözümleri Dergisi 7, no. 1 (2019): 1-25.
• Yılmaz, Nuri, and Gökmen Kılıçoğlu. “Türkiye’nin Orta Asya’daki Yumuşak Gücü ve Kamu Diplomasisi Uygulamalarının Analizi [Analysis of Turkey's Soft Power and Public Diplomacy Practices in Central Asia]." Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları 119, no. 235 (2018): 141-184.