Foreign Aid In Türkiye-Africa Relations: Past, Present And Future

Year 2024, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 775 - 790, 30.11.2024

Yunus Turhan

https://doi.org/10.33709/ictimaiyat.1504354

Abstract

Türkiye's relationship with African countries come to realize exigency of ameliorating relation over last two decades which has inevitable corollary of Türkiye’s belated efforts to expand into Africa. Türkiye’s efforts in Africa, slowly but surely, come to fruition, involving from an opening policy to a strategic partnership which eventually has brought a new dynamic to both Turkish orthodox foreign policy and Africa's relations with the outside world. Contrary to most analysts whom interpreted such pace as a temporary enthusiasm just blended with economic consideration, this relationship in fact represent rapprochement after 2008. This article chronologically examines Türkiye's retrospective to strategic partnership with African states in the context of "foreign aid", one of the elements of soft power, and analyses the historical turning points in it’s Africa outreach. Moving on to the concrete outputs of Türkiye's increasing aid to the continent, the article compares Türkiye’s foreign aid with Russia, China and the United States, while emphasizing the importance of Turkish foreign aid to Africa in the construction of a "benevolence power" policy, which is the most concrete practice of Türkiye's "Entrepreneurial and Humanitarian Foreign Policy" paradigm. In the final analysis, a forecast of Türkiye-Africa relations in the context of foreign aid is discussed.

Keywords

Turkiye-Africa, Foreign Aid, Humanitarian Diplomacy, Turkish Foreign Policy

Foreign Aid In Türkiye-Africa Relations: Past, Present And Future

Abstract

Türkiye'nin Afrika ülkeleriyle olan ilişkilerinin son on yılda iyileşme göstermesi, Türkiye'nin Afrika'ya açılmak için gecikmiş çabalarının kaçınılmaz bir sonucudur. Türkiye'nin Afrika projeksiyonu yavaş ama emin adımlarla meyvelerini her geçen yıl vermektedir. 2008 sonrası kurumsallaşma sürecine giren bu ilişkiler, çoğu analistin aksine geçici bir siyasi ve ekonomik beklentinin yansıması değil, tarihi on altıncı yüzyıla kadar uzanan ve karşılıklı siyasi ve sosyo-kültürel bağlara dayanan bir sürecin yeniden inşası şeklinde kendine alan açmıştır. Türkiye’nin bölgesel güç olma arzusuyla paralel ilerleyen bu alan, beş asır önce kurulan kurumsal bağları güçlendirmek ve ekonomik ortaklığın sunduğu fırsatlardan faydalanmak için diplomatik, kültürel, siyasi, ekonomik ve askeri alanları da şümülü, kapsamı ve derinliği açısından özgündür. Bu makale Türkiye’nin stratejik ortaklığa giden süreci, yumuşak güç unsurlarından “dış yardım” bağlamında ele alarak, tarihi kırılma anlarını kronolojik çerçevede incelemektedir. Türkiye’nin Kıtaya yönelik artan yardımlarının somut çıktılarına değinerek ilerleyen makale, Türkiye’nin “Girişimci ve İnsani Dış Politika” paradigmasın en somut pratiği olan “müşfik bir güç” faktörünün inşasında Afrika’ya yönelik dış yardımlarını, Kıt’ada aktif rol oynayan Rusya, Çin ve ABD’nin dış yardımları ile kıyaslama yapmaktadır. Son tahlilde, Türkiye-Afrika ilişkilerinin gelecek projeksiyonunu dış yardım bağlamında tartışmaktadır.

Keywords

Turkiye-Africa, Foreign Aid, Humanitarian Diplomacy, Turkish Foreign Policy

References

• Abate, C. A. (2022). The relationship between aid and economic growth of developing countries: Does Institutional Quality and Economic Freedom Matter?. Cogent Economics & Finance 10 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2022.2062092
• “Aid at a Glance Charts - OECD.” Paris: OECD, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/countries/centralafricanrepublic/aid-at-a-glance.htm.
• Alesina, A., & Dollar, D. (2000). Who gives foreign aid to whom and why?. Journal of Economic Growth 5 (1), 33–63. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009874203400
• Altunişik, M. B. (2014). Turkey as an ‘Emerging Donor’ and the Arab uprisings. Mediterranean Politics 19 (3), 333–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2014.959761
• Başak, Z. (1977). Dış yardım ve ekonomik etkileri Türkiye: 1960-70. Ankara: Hacettepe University Pub.
• Breuning, M., & Ishiyama, J. (2003). Donor characteristics and the dispersion of foreign assistance. International Politics 40 (2), 249–68. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ip.8800016
• Collier, P., & Dollar, D. (2002). Aid allocation and poverty reduction. European Economic Review 46(8), 1475–1500. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-2921(01)00187-8
• Collier, P., & Dollar, D. (2004). “Development effectiveness: What have we learnt?” The Economic Journal 114 (496), 244–71.
• Elayah, M. (2016). Lack of foreign aid effectiveness in developing countries between a Hammer and an Anvil. Contemporary Arab Affairs 9 (1), 82–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550912.2015.1124519
• Fidan, H., & Nurdun, R. (2008). Turkey’s role in the global development assistance community: The case of TIKA (Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency), Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans 10 (1), 93–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613190801895888
• Concern, W. (2022). Foreign aid by country: Who Is getting the most — and how much?, Retrieved from https://www.concernusa.org/story/foreign-aid-by-country/.
• Gilpin, S. I. (2021). China, Africa and the international aid system: A Challenge to (the Norms Underpinning) the neoliberal world order?, Journal of Asian and African Studies, 58 (3), https://doi.org/10.1177/002190962110638
• Hazar, N. (2011). Küreselleşme sürecinde Afrika ve Türkiye-Afrika ilişkileri. Ankara: USAK Books.
• Imbeau, L. M. (1989). Donor Aid - The determinants of development allocations to third world countries: A comparative analysis. New York: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers.
• Ipek, P. (2015). Ideas and change in foreign policy instruments: Soft power and the case of the Turkish international cooperation and development agency. Foreign Policy Analysis 11 (2), 173–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/fpa.12031
• Jevans. N. (2021). China’s financial Aid to Africa switches focus to grants, white paper shows. South China Morning Post (blog), Retrieved from https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3117997/china-africa-relations-beijings-financial-aid-leans-towards.
• Kachur, D. (2020). The Russian approach to Africa. In Russia’s resurgence in Africa: Zimbabwe and Mozambique (pp. 13–18). South African Institute of International Affairs. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep29565.8
• Labonte, M. (2009). Dead aid: Why aid is not working and how there is a better way for Africa. The Journal of North African Studies 15 (1), 127–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629380903119485
• Lumsdaine, D. H. (1993). Moral vision in international politics. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.
• Moyo, D. (2009). Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
• Oran, B. (2020). Türk dış politikası Kurtuluş Savaşından bugüne olgular, belgeler, yorumlar: 1919 - 1980. 20th ed. İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
• Pan, Y. (2015). China’s Foreign Assistance and Its Implications for the International Aid Architecture. China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies, 1 (2), 283–304. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2377740015500141
• Parlak, N. (2007). Orta Asya-Kafkasya-Balkan ülkeleriyle ilişkiler ve Türk dış yardımları: 1992-2003. Türk İşbirliği ve Kalkınma İdaresi Başkanlığı Yayınları 91. Ankara: TİKA.
• Quibria, M. G. (2014). Aid effectiveness: research, policy and unresolved issues. Development Studies Research 1 (1), 75–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/21665095.2014.922890
• Rafferty, T. (2011). China in Africa: Implications for the international development regime. St Antony’s International Review 6 (2), 27–46.
• Ratha, D. (2021). Keep remittances flowing to Africa. Retrevied from. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2021/03/15/keep-remittances-flowing-to-africa/.
• Robinson, J. (2022). Russian foreign humanitarian assistance: Identifying trends using 15 years of open-source data, Expeditions with MCUP.
• Roth, S. (2016). The paradoxes of aid work: Passionate professionals. Routledge.
• Round, J. I., & Odedokun, M. (2004). Aid Effort and Its Determinants, International Review of Economics & Finance 13 (3), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2003.11.006
• World Bank. Russia and the World Bank: International development assistance. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/russia/brief/international-development.
• Şimşir, B. N. (1993). Atatürk ve Yabancı Devlet Başkanları. Ankara.
• Tepeci̇kli̇oğlu, E. E. (2019). Türk dış politikasında Afrika: Temel dinamikler, fırsatlar ve engeller. Ankara: Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.
• Turhan, Y. (2021). Turkey as an emerging donor in the development community: The Turkish-type development assistance model (TDAM). Development Policy Review. 40 (4), https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12583
• Turkish Ministry of Foreing Affairs. Türkiye’nin kalkınma işbirliği: Genel özellikleri ve en az gelişmiş ülkelere yönelik yaklaşımı. Retrevied from https://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkiyenin-kalkinma-isbirligi.tr.mfa.
• Üstün, S. (1997). Turkey And The Marshall Plan: Strive for aid. The Turkish Yearbook 27 (1), 31–52.
• Zhang, C., Li X., & Alemu, D. (2021). Ownership and effectiveness of China’s aid projects in Africa. IDS Bulletin 52 (2), https://doi.org/10.19088/1968-2021.122
• Zimmerman, R. A. (2007). The Determinants of foreign Aid. University of Amsterdam Publication.