Turkish Aid Allocation in Turbulent Times: Changes and Continuities in Turkish Aid Modality

Öz

This paper investigates how Turkey has adjusted its foreign aid behavior over international and domestic shifts after the July 15 Coup Attempt. There have recently been exceptional developments in international/regional power structures whereby Turkey has a centrality, e.g., the war between Ukraine and Russia. Similarly, main pillars of Turkey’s foreign policy have been modified, best exemplified in increasingly strong sings of insecurity and lack of trust between Turkey and its erstwhile strategic partners. More importantly for Turkish aid allocation, a new framework – ‘Turkish-type Development Assistance Model’ (TDAM) has been introduced in late 2010s. As a result, the structural context in the early 2000s which has assisted Turkey in ascending the donor ranks has been gradually giving way to more ambiguous and elusive outlook for many types of international cooperation including foreign aid. To this background, the paper utilizes an interpretive analytical framework based on the critical analysis of key statements as well as on descriptive statistical analysis of databases (such as OECD and TIKA), and compares discursive, practical, and institutional patterns of Turkish aid allocation between the periods of 2003-2015 and 2016-2022 with the purpose of identifying the changes and continuities in Turkish development assistance with a macro-lens. It is concluded that given the growing polarization and competition in development landscape, TDAM should be seen as a robust and operational alternative for the maintenance of ‘relevant and impactful development assistance’ by embodying practical ways of ensuring mutual development without a secret agenda.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Foreign Aid
• Turkish Foreign Policy
• Turkish-type Development Assistance Model
• Justice and Development Party

Çalkantılı Zamanlarda Türkiye’nin Yardım Tahsisi: Türkiye’nin Yardım Yönteminde Değişimler ve Süreklilikler

Öz

Bu çalışma, 15 Temmuz Darbe Girişimi sonrası uluslararası ve yerel değişimler karşısında Türkiye’nin dış yardım davranışlarını nasıl uyarladığını incelemiştir. Türkiye’nin merkezi bir konumda olduğu uluslararası/bölgesel güç yapılarında son dönemde sıra dışı gelişmeler, örneğin Rusya ve Ukrayna arasındaki savaş gibi – yaşanmaktadır. Benzer şekilde, Türkiye ve bir zamanlar stratejik ortakları arasında büyümekte olan güvensizlik ve emniyetsizlik emarelerinden de anlaşılacağı gibi Türkiye’nin dış politika temel yapılarında değişimler gerçekleşmektedir. Türk yardım tahsisi konusunda daha da önemli bir gelişme olarak 2010’ların sonunda yeni bir çerçeve – Türk Tipi Kalkınma Yardımı Modeli (TKYM) ortaya konulmuştur. Sonuçta 2000’lerin başında Türkiye’nin bağışçı ülke konumunda ilerlemesine imkân veren yapısal ortam dış yardım da dahil olmak üzere birçok uluslararası işbirliği biçimi için giderek daha belirsiz ve zorlu bir duruma doğru evrilmektedir. Bu bağlamda, çalışma eleştirel söylem analizi ve veri tabanlarından (OECD ve TİKA gibi) elde edilen verilerin betimleyici istatistiksel analizine dayalı yorumsamacı bir çerçeve kullanmış ve kalkınma yardımı alanındaki süreklilik ve değişimleri makro perspektiften tanımlamak amacıyla 2003-2015 ve 2016-2022 dönemleri arasındaki yardımların söylemsel, pratik ve kurumsal örüntülerini karşılaştırmıştır. Çalışmada varılan sonuca göre kalkınma mimarisinde gelişen kutuplaşma ve rekabetçilik göz önüne alındığında, TKYM kalkınma yardımlarının bağıntılı ve etkili olabilmesi doğrultusunda gizli gündemler olmadan, ortak kalkınmanın pratik yollarını temsil etmesi bakımından güçlü ve işlevsel bir alternatif olarak görülebilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Dış Yardım
• Türk Dış Politikası
• Türk Tipi Kalkınma Yardımı Modeli
• Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi

Kaynakça

1. Akpınar, P. (2013). Turkey's peacebuilding in Somalia: The limits of humanitarian diplomacy. Turkish Studies, 14(4), pp. 735-757.
2. Altunışık, M. B. (2018). Turkey as an ‘emerging donor’ and the Arab uprisings. In The Struggle for Influence in the Middle East (pp. 53-70). Routledge.
3. Apaydin, F. (2012). Overseas Development Aid Across the Global South: Lessons from the Turkish Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia. European Journal of Development Research 24(2), pp. 261–282.
4. Aydın-Düzgit, S. (2020). Can non-democracies support international democracy? Turkey as a case study. Third World Quarterly, 41(2), pp. 264-283.
5. Bayer, R. & F. Keyman (2012) Turkey: an emerging hub of globalization and internationalist humanitarian actor? Globalizations, 9(1), pp. 73–90.
6. Cihangir-Tetik, D. & Müftüler-Baç, M. (2021). A comparison of development assistance policies: Turkey and the European Union in sectoral and humanitarian aid. Journal of European Integration, 43(4), pp. 439-457.
7. Davutoğlu, A. (2001): Stratejik derinlik: Turkiye'nin uluslararasi konumu. Istanbul: Küre Yayinlari.
8. Davutoğlu, A. (2012). Principles of Turkish foreign policy and regional political structuring (Turkey Policy Brief 3). http://www.tepav.org.tr/upload/files/1336135395-4.Principles_of_Turkish_Foreign_Policy_and_Regional_ Political_Structuring_by Ahmet_Davutoglu.pdf.

9. Donelli, F. & Levaggi, A. G. (2018). Becoming Global Actor: The Turkish Agenda for the Global South. Rising Powers Quarterly, 1(2), 93-115.
10. Fidan, H. & Nurdun, R. (2008). Turkey’s Role in the Global Development Assistance Community: The Case of TİKA (Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency). Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans 10(1), pp. 93–111.
11. Gilley, B. (2015). Turkey, Middle Powers, and the New Humanitarianism. Perceptions, 20(1), pp. 37-58.
12. Göle, D. (2014). Turkey’s Development Assistance to Fragile States: From Sporadic Actions to System Building Practices. Alternatives, 13(1-2), pp. 88-104.
13. Hausmann, J. (2014). Turkey as a donor country and potential partner in triangular cooperation, Discussion Paper, No. 14/2014. https://www.idos-research.de/en/discussion-paper/article/turkey-as-a-donor-country-and-potential-partner-in-triangular-cooperation/.
14. Hausmann, J. & Lundsgaarde, E. (2015). Turkey’s Role in Development Cooperation. UNU-CPR, https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:3325/unu_cpr_turkey_dev.pdf.
15. 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), pp. 173-193.
16. Kavakli, K. C. (2018). Domestic politics and the motives of emerging donors: Evidence from Turkish foreign aid. Political Research Quarterly, 71(3), 614-627.
17. Keyman, F. E. (2017). A New Turkish Foreign Policy: Towards Proactive ‘Moral Realism’. Insight Turkey 19 (1), pp. 55–69.
18. Kragelund, P. (2011). Back to Basics? The Rejuvenation of Non-Traditional Donors’ Development Cooperation with Africa. Development and Change 42(2), pp. 585–607.
19. Kubicek, P. (2022). Contrasting theoretical approaches to Turkish foreign policy. Turkish Studies, 23(5), pp. 645-658.
20. Kulaklıkaya, M. & Aybey, A. (2008). An Emerging Donor in the Mediterranean Basin: Turkey. IE Mediterranean. pp. 263-268.
21. Kulaklıkaya, M. & Nurdun. R. (2010). Turkey as a New Player in Development Cooperation. Insight Turkey, 12(4), pp. 131–145.
22. Langan, M. (2017). Virtuous Power Turkey in Sub-Saharan Africa: The ‘Neo-Ottoman’ Challenge to the European Union. Third World Quarterly, 38(6), pp. 1399-1414.
23. Marcou, J. (2013). Turkey’s foreign policy: shifting back to the west after a drift to the east?, Paris, Ankara: International Policy and Leadership Institute, (Turkey Policy Brief Series 8).
24. Mélonio, T., Naudet, J. D., & Rioux, R. (2022). Official Development Assistance at the age of consequences. AFD Policy Papers, (11), pp. 1-43.
25. Mengüaslan, H., & Fidan, Y. (2022). Pandemi ve Düzensiz Göç: Avrupa Birliği Düzensiz Göç Politikasının Türkiye ve Libya Mutabakatları Bağlamında Eleştirel Bir Analizi. Ankara Avrupa Çalışmaları Dergisi, 21(1), ss. 195-223.
26. Mengüaslan, H., & Celik, S. (2023). What Does" Big Data" Tell? A Network Analysis Approach to the Justice and Development Party's Role Performance in the Middle East Between 2015 And 2020. J. Liberty & Int'l Aff., 9(1), pp. 48-72.
27. Mugurtay, N., Muftuler-Bac, M. (2023). Turkish power contestation with the United Arab Emirates: an empirical assessment of official development assistance. Int Polit 60, pp. 659–684.
28. Naim, M. (2007). Rogue aid. Foreign Policy March/April 2007. http://www.foreignpolicy.com /story/cms.php?story_id=3732.
29. OECD. (2021). Development Co-operation Report 2021: Shaping a Just Digital Transformation. OECD Publishing: Paris.
30. OECD. (2023). Development Co-operation Report 2023: Debating the Aid System. OECD Publishing: Paris.
31. Öniş, Z. (2011). Multiple Faces of the ‘New’ Turkish Foreign Policy: Underlying Dynamics and a Critique. Insight Turkey, 13(1), pp. 47–65.
32. Özkan, M. (2018). Turkey In South-South Cooperation: New Foreign Policy Approach in Africa. Vestnik RUDN. International Relations, 18(3), pp. 565-578.
33. Presidency of Republic of Türkiye. https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/news/542/89052/our-motto-the-world-is-bigger-than-five-is-the-biggest-ever-rise-against-global-injustice.
34. Quadir, F. (2013). Rising Donors and the New Narrative of ‘South–South’ Cooperation: what prospects for changing the landscape of development assistance programmes?’. Third World Quarterly, 34(2), pp. 321-338.
35. Severino, J. & Ray, O. (2009). The End of ODA: Death and Rebirth of a Global Public Policy. Centre for Global Development, Working Paper no. 167. Washington, D.C.CGD.
36. Smith, K., T. Fordelone, Y. & Zimmermann, F. (2010). Beyond the DAC: The Welcome Role of Other Providers of Development Cooperation. DCD Issues Brief, OECD Development Co-operation Directorate.
37. Sözen, A. (2010). A Paradigm Shift in Turkish Foreign Policy: Transition and Challenges. Turkish Studies 11(1), pp. 103–23.
38. Thorbecke, E. (2007). The Evolution of the Development Doctrine, 1950–2005. In: Mavrotas, G., Shorrocks, A. (eds) Advancing Development. Studies in Development Economics and Policy (pp. 3-36). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
39. TİKA. (2016). Development Assistance Report 2016. https://www.tika.gov.tr/en/ publication/list/turkish_development_assistance_reports-24.
40. TİKA. (2018). Development Assistance Report 2018. https://www.tika.gov.tr/en/ publication/list/turkish_development_assistance_reports-24.
41. TİKA. (2021). Development Assistance Report 2021. https://www.tika.gov.tr/en/ publication/list/turkish_development_assistance_reports-24.
42. Turhan, Y. (2022). Turkey as an emerging donor in the development community: The Turkish-type Development Assistance Model (TDAM). Development Policy Review, 40, e12583. https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12583.
43. UNDP. 2022. Human Development Report 2021-22: Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World. New York.
44. Woods, N. (2005). The shifting politics of foreign aid. International Affairs, 81(2), pp. 393-409.
45. World Bank, World Development Indicators. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP. MKTP.KD.ZG?contextual=default&end=2022&locations=TR&start=2002&view=chart.
46. Yardımcı, A. (2019). An Emerging Donor in Retrospect: Understanding Turkey’s Development Assistance Activism. In Besada, H.G., Tok, M.E. & Polonenko, M. (Eds). Innovating South-South Cooperation Policies, Challenges, And Prospects, (pp. 349-372). University Of Ottawa Press.
47. Yavuz, H. M. (2022). The motives behind the AKP’s foreign policy: neo-Ottomanism and strategic autonomy. Turkish Studies, 23(5), pp. 659-680.
48. Zengin, H., & Korkmaz, A. (2019). Determinants of Turkey’s foreign aid behavior –CORRIGENDUM. New Perspectives on Turkey, 61, pp. 181-181.