Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits

Ali Balcı

Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits

Öz

Since 1998, when Türkiye inaugurated its ‘Opening up to Africa Policy,’ there has been a concerted effort to cultivate political, economic, and cultural ties with African states. This growing engagement has prompted extensive scholarly inquiry into its underlying motivations and outcomes. Scholars utilized diverse analytical tools to propose and evaluate potential determinants. This paper posits that the frequency of high-level leadership visits serves as a barometer for the intensity of Türkiye’s bilateral relations and seeks to unravel the rationale behind the preferential focus on certain African countries. The study empirically tests the determinants identified in the existing literature by leveraging data on Türkiye’s high-level visits to the continent. The findings show that Turkish leaders’ visits to African countries are predominantly influenced by economic interests and historical ties, with a clear preference for nations offering larger markets and shared historical connections, while humanitarian considerations appear to play a minimal role.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Destekleyen Kurum

TÜBİTAK

Proje Numarası

123K254

Kaynakça

Ali, A. (2011). Turkey’s foray into Africa: A new humanitarian power?. Insight Turkey, 13(4), 65-73.
Aras, B. (2013). Turkey’s Africa Policy, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, October 7, 1-4.
Aras, B., & Pinar, A. (2015). The role of humanitarian NGOs in Turkey’s peacebuilding. International Peacekeeping, 22(3), 230-247.
Bailey, M. A., Anton S., & Erik V. (2017). Estimating Dynamic State Preferences from United Nations Voting Data. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 61(2), 430–56.
Balcı, A. (2021). Türkiye Dış Politikası: İlkeler, Aktörler ve Uygulamalar. İstanbul: Alfa Yayınları.
Balcı, A. (2024). Birleşmiş Milletler Güvenlik Konseyi: Eleştirel Bir Giriş, İstanbul: Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.
Balcı, A. (2024a). Determinants of Leader Visits: A Review and Future Directions in Scholarship. Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 11(1), 1-20.
Balcı, A. (2024b). Where small powers travel? Understanding Jordan’s high-level diplomatic visit patterns. Political Studies Review, 14789299241279037.

Balcı, A. (2024c). Drivers of Iran’s Africa Engagement: An Analysis of High-Level Leadership Visits. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 00219096241291060.
Balcı, A., & Abdüssamet P. (2024). Love Money or Fame? Determinants of Turkey’s Leader Visits, International Studies Quarterly, 68(1), 1-12.
Bayer, R., & E. F. K. (2012). Turkey: An emerging hub of globalization and internationalist humanitarian actor?. Globalizations, 9(1), 73-90.
Bayram, M. (2022). Türkiye-Afrika İş Birliği: Üçüncü Bir Yol Mümkün Mü?. In: Burhanettin Duran, Kemal İnat, and Mustafa Caner (Ed.), Türk Diş Politikasi Yıllığı (pp. 75-89). Ankara: Seta Yayınları.
Belder, F., & Samiratou, D. (2018). A comparative analysis of China and Turkey’s development aid activities in sub-Saharan Africa. Emel Parlar Dal (Ed.) Middle Powers in Global Governance: The Rise of Turkey (pp. 231–253). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Calabrese, J. (2022). Building in Africa: Turkey’s “Third Way” in China’s Shadow. The Middle East Institute. https://www.mei.edu/publications/building-africa-turkeys-third-way-chinas-shadow
Cannon, B. J. (2016). Deconstructing Turkey’s Efforts in Somalia. Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, 16(14), 98-123.
Cannon, B. J. (2017). Turkey in Africa: Lessons in Political Economy. Florya Chronicles of Political Economy, 3(1), 93-110.
Chen, C. (2023). The Contagion of Foreign Policy Convergence: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Chinese Leadership Visits, 1978–2014. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 16(2), 157-180.
Demirtaş, T., & Ferhat, P. (2024). Türkiye’s Security Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Constructivist Analysis. Insight Turkey 26(3), 103-130.
Devecioğlu, K. (2024). Türkiye’s Vision for Africa: Humanitarian Diplomacy and Development Cooperation. Insight Turkey 26(3), 131-154.
Doğan, B. B., & Ş. Ö. T. (2015). Türkiye’nin Afrika Ülkeleri ile olan Dış Ticaretinin Belirleyicileri: Panel Çekim Modeli Yaklaşımı. Akademik Araştırmalar ve Çalışmalar Dergisi (AKAD), 7(12), 1–15.
Donelli, F., & Ariel, G. (2016). Becoming Global Actor: The Turkish Agenda for the Global South. Rising powers quarterly, 1(2): 93-115.
Donelli, F. (2018). The Ankara Consensus: The Significance of Turkey’s Engagement in sub-Saharan Africa. Global Change, Peace & Security, 30(1), 57-76.
Donelli, F. (2019). Persuading through culture, values, and ideas. Insight Turkey, 21(3), 113-134.
Erdağ, R. (2019). Türkiye’nin Afrika Politikası 2018. Burhanettin Duran, Kemal İnat & Mustafa Caner (Ed.), Türk Diş Politikasi Yıllığı (315-337), Ankara: Seta Yayınları.
Eyrice-Tepeciklioğlu, E. (2020). Economic Relations between Turkey and Africa: Challenges and Prospects. The Journal of Sustainable Development and Policy, 8(1): 1–33.
Fakuade, D. (2023). Türkiye-Africa Relations. Insight Turkey, 25(3), 51-62.
Gök, G. O. (2021). Turkey’s development assistance in Africa in the 2000s: Hybrid humanitarianism in the post-liberal era. Elem Eyrice Tepeciklioğlu & Ali Tepeciklioğlu (Ed.), Turkey in Africa: A new emerging power? (182-198), London: Routledge.
Gray, K., & Craig N. M. (Ed.) (2015). Rising Powers and the future of Global Governance. London: Routledge.
Haşimi, C. (2014). Turkey’s humanitarian diplomacy and development cooperation. Insight Turkey, 16(1), 127-145.
Ilgıt, A. (2023). Two Hallmarks of ‘New’ Turkey’s Foreign Policy: Humanitarianism and Africa. Binnur Özkeçeci-Taner & Sinem Akgül Açıkmeşe (Ed.), One Hundred Years of Turkish Foreign Policy (1923-2023) Historical and Theoretical Reflections (211-233). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
İpek, V. 2021. Revisiting Liberal Peacebuilding: BRICS and Turkey in Somalia. PERCEPTIONS: Journal of International Affairs, 26(1), 152-176.
İpek, V., & Gonca, B. (2013). Turkey’s foreign policy implementation in sub-Saharan Africa: A post-international approach. New Perspectives on Turkey (49), 121-156.
Karaca, S. Z. (2000). Turkish foreign policy in the year 2000 and beyond: her opening up policy to Africa. Dış Politika (3-4), 115-119.
Karaoğuz, H. E., & Selman, E. G. (2021). The political economy of Turkey-Africa relations. Elem Eyrice Tepeciklioğlu & Ali Tepeciklioğlu (Ed.), Turkey in Africa: A new emerging power? (93-108), London: Routledge.
Keyman, F., & Onur, S. (2014). Turkey as a Humanitarian State, POMEAS Policy Paper 2.
Köktaş, R. (2018). Türkiye’nin Ortadoğu’daki Bölgesel Örgütlerle İlişkileri: İİT, KİK, D-8, Arap Ligi ve ECO. Bilgi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 20(2), 45-75.
Kızılarslan, A. G. (2009). Economic Relations Between Turkey and African Countries. Ufuk Tepebas (Ed.), Turkish and African Civil Society Organizations (CSOs): Cooperation and Development (19–27), Istanbul: Tasam Publications.
Langan, M. (2017). Virtuous Power Turkey in Sub-Saharan Africa: The ‘Neo-Ottoman’ Challenge to the European Union. Third World Quarterly, 38(6), 1399-1414.
Li, X. (2015). Dealing with the Ambivalent Dragon: Can Engagement Moderate China’s Strategic Competition with America?. International Interactions, 41(3), 480-508.
Mayer, T., & Soledad, Z. (2011). Notes on CEPII’s Distances Measures: The GeoDist Database. CEPII Working Paper.
Mehmetcik, H. (2018). Turkey and India in the Context of Foreign Aid to Africa. Emel Parlar Dal (Ed.), Middle Powers in Global Governance: The Rise of Turkey (255-275). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Muğurtay, N. (2022). Non-traditional donors and geopolitics of foreign aid: China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates in Africa. Phd Diss. İstanbul: Sabancı University.
Němečková, T., & Martina, V. (2024). Turkish Airlines: Facilitating Türkiye’s soft power in Africa. Canadian Journal of African Studies/Revue canadienne des études africaines, 1-23.
Özkan, M. (2008). Turkey discovers Africa: Implications and prospects. SETA Policy Brief, 22.
Özkan, M., & Birol, A. (2010). Turkey’s opening to Africa. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 48(4), 525-546.
Özkan, M. (2010). What drives Turkey’s involvement in Africa?. Review of African Political Economy 37(126), 533-540.
Özşahin, C., & Şerife Ö. (2020). The nexus between political risks and foreign direct investment: An empirical analysis for north African countries. Manas Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi 9(4), 2430-2446.
Parlar D. E., Ali M. K., & Hakan, M. (2018). Assessing the Role of Trade in the Formation of Turkey’s Civilian Power in Africa. Perceptions: Journal of International Affairs 23(1), 63-94.
Parlar D. E., & Samiratou D. (2020). Assessing the Turkish “trading state” in sub-Saharan Africa. Emel Parlar Dal (ed.) Turkey’s political economy in the 21st century (239-270), Cham: Palgrave Macmillan,
Selçuk, O. (2013). Turkish Airlines: Turkey’s Soft Power Tool in the Middle East. Akademik Ortadoğu 7(2), 175–199.
Selçuk, O. (2021). Turkish Airlines as a Source of Soft Power in Africa. Elem E. Tepeciklioğlu & Ali O. Tepeciklioğlu (ed.), Turkey in Africa. A New Emerging Power? (217–236), London and New York: Routledge.
Sıradağ, A. (2020). Turkey’s Engagement with the African Organisations: Partner or Competitor?. India Quarterly 76(4), 519-534.
Stambøl, E. M., & Tobias B. (2023). Transnationally entangled (in) securities: The UAE, Turkey, and the Saharan political economy of danger. Security Dialogue 54(5), 493-514.
Tepeciklioğlu, A. O., Elem E. T., & Can K. (2023). (Exploring) the Impact of Turkey’s Embassies on Trade with sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies: 1-18.
Turhan, Y. (2021). Turkey’s foreign aid to Africa: An analysis of the post-July 15 era. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 23(5), 795-812.
Wang, Y., & Randall W. S. (2023). China visits: A dataset of Chinese leaders’ foreign visits. The Review of International Organizations 18(1), 201-225.
World Bank. (2023). Indicators: Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population). Accessed January 10, 2023. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS
Yan, J., & Yonghong, Z. (2023). Ancestral relatedness and visits between national leaders: Evidence from China. Pacific Economic Review 28(3), 390-408.
Yılmaz, A. (2020). Turkey-African Trade Relationship; New Insights from Panel Causality Analysis, Journal of Yasar University, 15(59), 894–919.

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

Türkçe

Konular

Afrika Çalışmaları, Uluslararası İlişkiler (Diğer)

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Yazarlar

Ali Balcı ^*
0000-0003-4429-9318
Türkiye

Erken Görünüm Tarihi

5 Aralık 2024

Yayımlanma Tarihi

27 Kasım 2024

Gönderilme Tarihi

20 Eylül 2024

Kabul Tarihi

21 Kasım 2024

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2024 Cilt: 1 Sayı: 1

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA86XE39SB

Kaynak Göster

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Balcı, A. (2024). Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits. Turkish Journal of African Studies, 1(1), 64-90. https://izlik.org/JA86XE39SB

AMA

1.Balcı A. Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits. TUJAS. 2024;1(1):64-90. https://izlik.org/JA86XE39SB

Chicago

Balcı, Ali. 2024. “Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits”. Turkish Journal of African Studies 1 (1): 64-90. https://izlik.org/JA86XE39SB.

EndNote

Balcı A (01 Kasım 2024) Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits. Turkish Journal of African Studies 1 1 64–90.

IEEE

[1]A. Balcı, “Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits”, TUJAS, c. 1, sy 1, ss. 64–90, Kas. 2024, [çevrimiçi]. Erişim adresi: https://izlik.org/JA86XE39SB

ISNAD

Balcı, Ali. “Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits”. Turkish Journal of African Studies 1/1 (01 Kasım 2024): 64-90. https://izlik.org/JA86XE39SB.

JAMA

1.Balcı A. Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits. TUJAS. 2024;1:64–90.

MLA

Balcı, Ali. “Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits”. Turkish Journal of African Studies, c. 1, sy 1, Kasım 2024, ss. 64-90, https://izlik.org/JA86XE39SB.

Vancouver

1.Ali Balcı. Determinants of Türkiye’s Relations with Africa: Insights from High-level Leader Visits. TUJAS [Internet]. 01 Kasım 2024;1(1):64-90. Erişim adresi: https://izlik.org/JA86XE39SB