Turkey, Middle Powers, and the New Humanitarianism

Abstract

This article traces the evolution of Turkey’s humanitarian diplomacy as an example of the new humanitarianism associated with emerging countries. It discusses both the promise as well as the challenges of the new humanitarianism. It then introduces the idea of “middle power activism” in international affairs as one way to understand Turkey’s behavior. This lens is then used to identify the aspects of Turkey’s behavior that are more likely to endure as contributions to global humanitarian affairs. It identifies state-centered humanitarian aid, regional approaches, and the supplementing of humanitarian aid with political and economic goals as aspects of the Turkish approach likely to endure and to appeal to other emerging actors

Keywords

• Humanitarianism, humanitarian diplomacy, emerging powers, middle powers.

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