The changes and challenges of Turkey's foreign policy

10/06/2009

Speculation mounts as to whether Turkey's new Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will follow a neo-Ottoman or pro-EU policy.

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times in Ankara -- 10/06/09

"The EU membership process will continue as our top priority," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. [Getty Images]

Since Ahmet Davutoglu was appointed foreign minister last month, many have speculated on the course Turkish foreign policy will take.

During the seven-year rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Davutoglu worked as chief adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He participated in key meetings in Western capitals and the Middle East, as Erdogan's personal envoy.

Davutoglu is generally linked to the notion of Turkish neo-Ottomanism, which favours a commonwealth with its neighbours.

The AKP's policies on various issues -- including relations with Hamas, Darfur, and the Iranian nuclear crisis -- differ from the Western approach. Because of this, European diplomats question whether Davutoglu will put EU membership on the backburner to focus on Turkey's neo-Ottoman vision.

He was quick to address these concerns during a May visit to Brussels.

"The EU membership process will continue as our top priority," he told EU ambassadors.

"We should work together to render Turkey and the EU as primary actors of the global economic-political and legal system, in which Turkey will add value to the EU, rather than be a burden."

Davutoglu reiterated that Turkey wants to wrap up EU accession talks by 2013, and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Turkish republic in 2023 as an EU member state. To meet those goals, Davutoglu said Turkey will speed up political reform and uphold democracy.

He also said the Turkish government plans to inspire confidence, security and freedoms in the surrounding regions, including the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Despite these intentions, experts question whether Davutoglu's proposals would be substantial enough to change the course of traditional Turkish foreign policy. Western analysts have already criticised it as upholding the status quo and failing to follow world trends.

Turkey also faces long-standing issues concerning Cyprus, reconciliation with Armenia, relations with Iraqi Kurds and the elimination of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Professor Cagri Erhan of Ankara University is sceptical. "It seems reasonable to pursue a zero-problem policy with your neighbours and develop a common economic sphere for prosperity. But in the real world, it is not as simple as … talking about it," Erhan told Southeast European Times.