Vaccine Nationalism and Turkey’s Vaccine Diplomacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Öz

Vaccine nationalism is expressed as the process of some countries assuring the supply of vaccine primarily to protect their own citizens, detrimental to underdeveloped countries' access to vaccines. In addition to international aid programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are also aids made by countries within the framework of public diplomacy and soft power policies with their own efforts. Industrialized and developed countries that have access to COVID-19 vaccines have announced that they will donate vaccines to relatively least developed countries. Most of the developed countries use vaccines as a tool of diplomacy. This study focuses on whether Turkey uses COVID-19 vaccines as a foreign policy tool. The study focuses on evaluating whether Turkey was successful in vaccine diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a comparative method. The study compares the vaccine aids of Turkey and developed and developing countries during the pandemic period. The statements of the World Health Organization and the official aid announcements of the countries are used in the article. After overcoming the shortage of access to vaccines experienced in the early stages of the pandemic, Turkey decided to send vaccines to the least developed and developing countries such as the TRNC, Libya, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vietnam after overcoming the problems in accessing to the vaccine. Turkey's vaccine donations were more limited compared to other healthcare equipment aids during the pandemic period.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Vaccine Diplomacy
• Vaccine Nationalism
• Public Diplomacy
• COVID-19
• Soft Power

COVID-19 Salgını Döneminde Aşı Milliyetçiliği ve Türkiye’nin Aşı Diplomasisi

Öz

Aşı milliyetçiliği, çoğu zaman az gelişmiş ülkelerin aşıya erişimini zorlaştıracak şekilde bazı ülkelerin öncelikli olarak kendi vatandaşlarını korumak için aşı arzını garantileme süreci olarak ifade edilmektedir. COVID-19 salgını sürecinde uluslararası yardım programlarının yanında ülkelerin kamu diplomasisi ve yumuşak güç politikaları çerçevesinde kendi çabaları ile yaptıkları yardımlar söz konusudur. COVID-19 aşısına ulaşabilen sanayileşmiş ve gelişmiş ülkeler görece az gelişmiş ülkelere aşı bağışlayacaklarını açıklamışlardır. Gelişmiş ülkelerin çoğu aşıları diplomasi aracı olarak kullanmaktadırlar. Bu çalışma Türkiye'nin COVID-19 aşılarını dış politika aracı olarak kullanıp kullanmadığına odaklanmaktadır. Çalışma karşılaştırmalı bir yöntem kullanarak, COVID-19 salgınında Türkiye'nin aşı diplomasisinde başarılı olup olmadığını değerlendirmeye odaklanmaktadır. Çalışma salgın döneminde Türkiye ile gelişmiş ve gelişen ülkelerin aşı yardımlarını karşılaştırmaktadır. Makalede, Dünya Sağlık Örgütü açıklamaları ve ülkelerin resmi yardım duyurularından yararlanılmıştır. Türkiye, salgının ilk dönemlerinde yaşanan aşıya erişim sıkıntısını aştıktan sonra KKTC, Libya, Bosna-Hersek, Vietnam gibi az gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülkelere aşı gönderme kararı almıştır. Türkiye’nin aşı bağışları, salgın dönemindeki diğer sağlık ekipmanı yardımlarına nazaran daha sınırlı kalmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• COVID-19
• Aşı Diplomasisi
• Aşı Milliyetçiliği
• Kamu Diplomasisi
• Yumuşak Güç

Kaynakça

1. About Sputnik V. (2021). Sputnik V was the first coronavirus vaccine to use a heterogeneous boosting approach based on 2 different vectors for 2 vaccine shots. Retrieved from https://sputnikvaccine.com/about-vaccine/
2. Akan, A. K. (2021). Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan: Togo'nun FETÖ ile mücadelemiz bağlamında verdiği destek takdire şayandır. Erişim adresi: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-togonun-feto-ile-mucadelemiz-baglaminda-verdigi-destek-takdire-sayandir/2396792
3. Arslan, M. İ. (2021). Türkiye'den KKTC'ye 50 bin doz Kovid-19 aşısı daha gönderildi. Erişim adresi: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/turkiyeden-kktcye-50-bin-doz-kovid-19-asisi-daha-gonderildi/ 2267765
4. Barai, M. K. and Dhar, S. (2021). COVID-19 Pandemic: Inflicted costs and some emerging global issues. Global Business Review, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150921991499
5. Barkey, H. J. and Gordon, P. H. (2001). Cyprus: The predictable crisis. The National Interest, 66(2), 83-93. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/
6. Berkley, S. (2021). If we’re not careful, booster vaccines could end up giving the coronavirus a boost. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/not-careful-booster-vaccines-could-end-giving-coronavirus-boost/
7. Berridge, G. R. (2005). Diplomacy theory and practice. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
8. Bollyky, T. J. and Bown, C. P. (2020). The tragedy of vaccine nationalism: Only cooperation can end the pandemic. Foreign Affairs, 99(96). Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/

9. Bull, H. (1997). The anarchical society: A study of order in world politics. Houndmills, UK: Macmillan.
10. Çakmaklı, C., Demiralp, S., Kalemli-Özcan, Ş., Yeşiltaş, S. and Yıldırım, M. A. (2021). The economic case for global vaccinations: An epidemiological model with international production networks (NBER Working Paper No. 28395). Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28395/w28395.pdf
11. Çevik, S. B. (2019). Reassessing Turkey’s soft power: The rules of attraction. Alternatives, 44(1), 50–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0304375419853751
12. China Gives. (2020). China gives its first COVID-19 vaccine approval to Sinopharm. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccine-china-idUSKBN29505P
13. Commission Strengthens. (2021). Commission strengthens transparency and authorisation mechanism for exports of COVID-19 vaccines. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_1352
14. Connolly, K. (2021). Sputnik V: How Russia's Covid vaccine is dividing Europe. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56735931
15. Cooper, A., Heine, J. and Thakur, R. (2013). The Oxford handbook of modern diplomacy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
16. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations. (2021). Share of people vaccinated against COVID-19. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
17. COVAX Vaccine Roll-out. (2021). COVAX vaccine roll-out: Country updates. Retrieved from https://www.gavi.org/covax-vaccine-roll-out
18. COVID-19 Vaccine in Development. (2021). Covid-19 vaccines in development phases. Retrieved from https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/covid/covid-19-vaccines-development-phases.png
19. Crnovrsanin, S., Zorlak, K. and Biogradlija, L. (2021). COVID-19 vaccines sent by Turkey arrive in Sarajevo. Retrieved from https://www.aa.com.tr/en/latest-on-coronavirus-outbreak/covid-19-vaccines-sent-by-turkey-arrive-in-sarajevo/2190733
20. Cunningham, E. and Morris, L. (2021). E.U. threatens drug companies with legal action if it doesn’t get its vaccines. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/european-union-astrazeneca-pfizer-vaccine-exports/2021/01/26/2840444e-5fc7-11eb-a177-7765f29a9524_story.html
21. Dose Donations to COVAX. (2021). COVAX dose donation table. Retrieved from https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/covid/covax/COVAX-Dose-Donation-Table.pdf
22. Duner, B. (1999). Cyprus: North is north, and south is south. Security Dialogue, 30(4), 485-496. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010699030004009
23. Elbe, S. (2021). Bioinformational diplomacy: Global health emergencies, data sharing and sequential life. European Journal of International Relations, 27(3), 657–681. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540661211008204
24. Erdağ, R. (2021). Security environment and military spending of Turkey in the 2000s. Contemporary Review of the Middle East, 8(1), 120–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/2347798920976294
25. Felter, C. (2021). A guide to global COVID-19 vaccine efforts (Council on Foreign Relations Working Paper No. 29817). Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep29817.pdf
26. Furlong, A. (2021). Kurz: Austria concludes Sputnik V negotiations. Retrieved from https://www.politico.eu/article/sebastian-kurz-austria-sputnik-v-coronavirus-vaccine-negotiations/
27. Gao, Q., Bao, L., Mao, H., Wang, L., Xu, K., Yang, M., … (2020). Development of an inactivated vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2. Science, 369(6499), 77-81. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc1932
28. Gençturk, A. and Bayar, G. (2021). Turkey sends COVID-19 vaccine donation to Libya. Retrieved from https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-sends-covid-19-vaccine-donation-to-libya/2208746
29. Güler, Y. (2021). Cumhurbaşkanı Yardımcısı Oktay, Vietnam Başbakanı Pham Minh Chinh ile telefonda görüştü. Erişim adresi: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/politika/turkiye-saglik-isbirligi-anlasmasi-kapsaminda-vietnam-a-200-bin-doz-asi-gonderecek/2390188
30. Güler, Y. (2021). Türkiye'nin yerli aşısı TURKOVAC'ın Faz 3 çalışmaları Kırgızistan'da da yürütülecek. Erişim adresi: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/koronavirus/turkiyenin-yerli-asisi-turkovacin-faz-3-calismalari-kirgizistanda-da-yurutulecek/2362680
31. Gyu, L. D. (2021). The belt and road initiative after COVID: The rise of health and digital silk roads (Asan Institute for Policy Studies No. 29688). Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep29688.pdf
32. Hein, W. and Paschke, A. (2020). Access to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines – A global public good Retrieved from https://www.giga-hamburg.de/en/publications/20071517-access-covid-19-vaccines-medicines-global-public-good/
33. Hernandez-Morales, A. (2020). Germany confirms that Trump tried to buy firm working on coronavirus vaccine. Retrieved from https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-confirms-that-donald-trump-tried-to-buy-firm-working-on-coronavirus-vaccine/
34. Ho, B. T. E. (2020). China’s Strategic objectives in a post COVID-19 world. PRISM, 9(1), 88-101. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/
35. Holder, J. (2021). Tracking coronavirus vaccinations around the world. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html
36. Hotez, P. J. (2014) “Vaccine diplomacy”: Historical perspectives and future directions. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 8(6), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003782
37. Hotez, P. J. and Narayan, K. M. V. (2021). Restoring vaccine diplomacy. JAMA, 325(23), 2337–2338. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.7439
38. Jerden, B., Rühlig, T., Seaman, J. and Turcsanyi, R. Q. (2021). Chinese public diplomacy and European public opinion during COVID-19 [Special Issue]. China Review, 21(2), 5-34. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/
39. Kavakli, K. C. (2018). Domestic politics and the motives of emerging donors: Evidence from Turkish foreign aid. Political Research Quarterly, 71(3), 614–627. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912917750783
40. Kickbusch, I. (2011). How foreign policy can influence health. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 342(7811), 1345–1346. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d3154
41. Kickbusch, I., Silberschmidt, G. and Buss, P. (‎2007)‎. Global health diplomacy: The need for new perspectives, strategic approaches and skills in global health. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 85(‎3)‎, 230 - 232. http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.06.039222
42. Koronavirus Salgınındaki Rol. (2021). Koronavirus salgınındaki rol ve vizyonumuz. Erişim adresi: https://www.mfa.gov.tr/koronavirus-salginindaki-rol-ve-vizyonumuz-6-11-2020.tr.mfa
43. Lee, S. T. (2021). Vaccine diplomacy: Nation branding and China’s COVID 19 soft power play. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-021-00224-4
44. Leigh, M. (2021). Vaccine diplomacy: Soft power lessons from China and Russia? Retrieved from https://www.bruegel.org/2021/04/vaccine-diplomacy-soft-power-lessons-from-china-and-russia/
45. Lupkin, S. (2021). Defense production act hastens COVID-19 vaccine production. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/03/13/976531488/defense-production-act-speeds-up-vaccine-production.
46. Mancini, D. P. and Peel, M. (2020). ‘Vaccine nationalism’ delays WHO’s struggling COVAX scheme. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/502df709-25ac-48f6-aee1-aec7ac03c759
47. Manela, E. (2010). A pox on your narrative: Writing disease control into cold war history. Diplomatic History, 34(2), 299-323. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7709.2009.00850.x
48. Mardell, J. (2020). China’s global healthcare ambitions: Gaining influence on the international stage. Retrieved from https://merics.org/en/short-analysis/chinas-global-healthcare-ambitions-gaining-influence-international-stage
49. More Than 5.35 Billion. (2021). More than 8.45 billion shots given: Covid-19 tracker. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/
50. Morse, S. S., Garwin, R. L. and Olsiewski, P. J. (2006). Non-pharmaceutical public health interventions for pandemic influenza: An evaluation of the evidence base. Science, 314(5801). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-7-208
51. Mullard, A. (2020). How COVID vaccines are being divvied up around the world. Nature, 30. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03370-6
52. Nye, Jr. J. S. (2008). Public diplomacy and soft power. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616, 94-109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716207311699
53. Öcek, Z. A. ve Çiçeklioğlu, M. (2012). Türkiye’de aşı üretiminde neler oluyor. Toplum ve Hekim, 27(1), 53-63. Erişim adresi: https://app.trdizin.gov.tr/
54. Özmert, E. N. (2008). Dünya'da ve Türkiye'de aşılama takvimindeki gelişmeler. Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Dergisi, 51(3), 168-175. Erişim adresi: https://www.cshd.org.tr/
55. Packham, C. (2021). Exclusive: EU denies blocking 3.1 million AstraZeneca shots to Australia. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-australia-vaccines-idUSKBN2BT0C4
56. Randal, T. (2021). The world’s wealthiest countries are getting vaccinated 25 times faster. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-09/when-will-world-be-fully-vaccinated-pace-is-2-400-faster-in-wealthy-countries
57. Secrieru, S., Saari, S. and Bechev, D. (2021). Russia and Turkey in the Balkans: Parallel tracks. In Fire and ice: The Russian-Turkish partnership (pp. 51–59). European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/
58. Shakeel, S. I., Brown, M., Sethi, S. and Mackey, T. K. (2019). Achieving the end game: Employing “vaccine diplomacy” to eradicate polio in Pakistan. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6393-1
59. Tayfur, N. A. (2021). Kırgızistan Türkiye'den SİHA alacak. Erişim adresi: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/kirgizistan-turkiyeden-siha-alacak/2399442
60. Telci, İ. N. (2020). Turkey’s Libya policy: Achievements and challenges. Insight Turkey, 22(4), 41–54. https://www.doi.org/10.25253/99.2020224.03
61. TİKA. (2020). Türk işbirliği ve koordinasyon ajansı faaliyet raporu. Erişim adresi: https://www.tika.gov.tr/upload/sayfa/FAAL%C4%B0YET%20RAPORU%202020/TIKAFaaliyet2020Web.pdf
62. Türkiye’de Aşının Tarihçesi. (2021). Ülkemizde aşı üretimi için çalışmalar ilk Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Döneminde başlamıştır. Erişim adresi: https://asi.saglik.gov.tr/genel-bilgiler/33-asinin-tarihcesi
63. UK Medicine. (2020). UK medicines regulator gives approval for first UK COVID-19 vaccine. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-medicines-regulator-gives-approval-for-first-uk-covid-19-vaccine
64. Vanderslott, S., Emary, K., Naude, R., English, M., Thomas, T., Patrick-Smith, Maia., … (2021). Vaccine nationalism and internationalism: Perspectives of COVID-19 vaccine trial participants in the United Kingdom. BMJ Global Health, 6(10), e006305. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006305
65. Winer, P. (2021). Israel said to be paying average of $47 per person for Pfizer, Moderna vaccines. Retrieved from https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-said-to-be-paying-average-of-47-per-person-for-pfizer-moderna-vaccines/
66. World Health Organization. (2021). Coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard. Retrieved from https://covid19.who.int/