The Turkish Sultan’s Dubious Charm Offensive

Burak Bekdil
May 7, 2020
Paper No. 1554

Turkey’s Islamist strongman, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, knows he needs to win Western public opinion in order to achieve international legitimacy. But try as he might, his propaganda efforts are instantly undone by his routine authoritarianism.

Turkey and the Libyan and Syrian Civil Wars

Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is constantly looking for opportunities to enhance its status as a regional superpower and promote its Islamist ideology in the Arab Middle East. Libya is the newest arena in which Erdoğan is trying to capitalize on inter-Arab rivalries, this time in service to his desire to lay claim to gas under the seabed of the Mediterranean.

Turkey and Coronavirus: Divided We Stand

Burak Bekdil
April 23, 2020
Paper No. 1539

The Erdoğan government in Turkey has banned fundraising efforts to fight the coronavirus in municipalities controlled by the opposition. It has frozen the bank accounts of the city of Istanbul and of soup kitchens, shut down hastily constructed coronavirus field hospitals, and cut off free bread distribution—all in opposition-controlled areas. The pandemic has forcefully reminded Turks how divided they remain—a division that is stopping them from coming together to stem a potential catastrophe that is national, not ideological.

Turkey Is Building a Geopolitical Alliance Between Sunni and Shiite Islamists

The recent news about the involvement of Iranian diplomats in the murder of an Iranian dissident in Turkey sparked a flare of international interest from within the all-encompassing coronavirus pandemic coverage, largely thanks to unflattering comparisons with coverage of the Jamal Khashoggi murder in 2018 (which the Iranian press promoted with gusto). The relative lack of interest in the crime from within Turkey itself reflects Ankara’s willingness to consort with Shiite Islamists to its own advantage.

Challenging the World Order: Erdoğan and Nukes

Brinksmanship may be his trademark, but Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is unlikely to provoke the ire of the international community by launching a nuclear weapons program. Still, his demand that Turkey have the right to do so highlights the fracturing of the rules-based international order as well as changing regional realities.

Is Erdoğan Solely Responsible for Turkish Foreign Policy?

Many believe Turkey will return to “Western normality” as soon as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan finishes his political career. But Turkey’s behavior is influenced by the systemic restructuring of the international arena after the end of the Cold War more than it is by Erdogan’s aura, as was apparent in the 1990s prior to his advent. It is unwise to anticipate a significant change in Turkish foreign policy once Erdoğan leaves the scene.

Turkey and the EU: A Doomed Engagement

Burak Bekdil
April 28, 2019
Paper No. 1155

The March 31 elections, which blended victory with defeat for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, put a further brake on Turkey’s de facto stalled membership talks with the EU. The Islamist strongman appears to be the willing political hostage of Turkey’s grey wolves.

Crafting a Regional Policy to Contain Erdoğan

Turkey poses a long-term threat to the security of the Middle East. Containing Neo-Ottomanism requires a defensive policy that integrates Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and the Kurds into a regional alliance.

Turkey Plants Its Flag in Christchurch

When, two days after the mass shooting in New Zealand, Turkish VP Fuat Oktay and FM Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu became the first high-level foreign government delegation to travel to Christchurch, they were doing more than expressing solidarity with New Zealand's grieving Muslim community. They were planting Turkey's flag as part of a global effort to expand support for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's style of religiously packaged authoritarian rule – a marriage of Islam and Turkish nationalism – beyond the Turkic and former Ottoman world.

Erdoğan’s Dangerous Ambitions Threaten India and Beyond

The age of empire has come and gone, but in some quarters, the imperialist dream is alive and well. Leaders continue to appear on the world stage from time to time to style themselves in this fashion. The latest entry in this category is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is promoting himself as leader of the Muslim world to his coreligionists around the globe – particularly in India.