Turkey, Libya, and Africa

Public Radio International posted on 2 January 2020 an interview with me titled "Is Turkey Seeking a Neo-Ottoman Empire?"

The focus of the interview is the recent decision by Turkey to send troops to Libya to support the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord against the forces of General Khalifa Haftar. It also looks at Turkey's wider interests in Africa.

Turkey's Efforts to Establish Influence in the Horn of Africa

Lawfare posted on 19 May 2019 an analysis titled "Turkey and the New Scramble for Africa: Ottoman Designs or Unfounded Fears?" by Zach Vertin, Brookings Institution.

The author notes that most Turkish officials and analysts suggest the Horn of Africa does not break the top five foreign policy issues for Turkey although the region is nevertheless significant. Turkey's actions in the Horn are motivated in part by competition with Gulf adversaries Saudi Arabia and the UAE. President Erdogan's wider ambitions are to sit atop a revitalized Muslim world but concerns about neocolonial or even territorial conquest are overstated.

Turkey's Policy in Africa

The Center for Strategic and International Studies recently posted an analysis titled "Neo-Ottomanism: Turkey's Foreign Policy Approach to Africa" by Asya Akca.

The author concluded that part of Turkish President Erdogan's agenda is to turn Turkey into a global power, while also taking the country back to the glory days of the Ottoman Empire. By shutting down Gulen schools in almost 30 African countries, Erdogan sees himself as putting down possible threats to Turkey's global expansion efforts.

Turkey Extends Influence in Red Sea

The Middle East Institute posted on 17 January 2018 an analysis titled "Turkey's Move into the Red Sea Unsettles Egypt" by Theodore Karasik and Giorgio Cafiero.

Turkey seems to have convinced Sudan to give it military access to Suakin Island, south of Port Sudan, in the Red Sea. Egypt fears that Sudan, with a Turkish military presence on Suakin Island, could feel emboldened to make an aggressive move against the disputed Halaib triangle along the Sudan-Egypt border. Turkey's entry into the Red Sea raises new questions for Arab states with high stakes in the region.

Turkey's Venture into Africa

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published on 9 February 2017 a commentary titled "Sailing from Byzantium: Turkey's Venture into Africa" by Peter Fabricius, ISS consultant.

The article summarizes Turkey's outreach to Africa and concludes that the motives of its policy are not so clear.

Ethiopia's Foreign Relations

Lit Verlag in Germany published in 2015 a book edited by Lukian Prijac titled "Les relations entre l'Ethiopie et les nations etrangeres" or "Foreign Relations with Ethiopia."  The chapters, which are written by a variety of authors, are in French or English.  I wrote the chapters on the United States and China, both in English.

Other relations covered include Armenia, Austria, Israel, Japan, Vatican, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Ottoman Empire, Hungary, and Russia. 

Turkey's Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa

London-based Chatham House published in September 2015 my research paper titled "Turkey's Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa: Shifting Alliances and Strategic Diversification."  The paper analyzes all aspects of the rapidly expanding relationship between Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa.  In view of the numerous challenges facing Turkey, however, the paper suggests that Ankara over the short-term may become more insular and be less focused on expanding its efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Today's Zaman, a Gulen-affiliated daily in Istanbul, published on 22 October 2015 an article titled "Report Reveals Repercussions of AK Party Fight against Gulen Movement in Africa" that drew from the Chatham House report.  Only a small section of the Chatham House report deals with the Gulen Movement; most of it concerns Turkey's relations with Sub-Saharan Africa.   

Turkey-Africa Relations

The March 2012 issue of the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies published a study titled "A New Actor or Passer-By? The Political Economy of Turkey's Engagement with Africa" by Mehmet Ozkan, a lecturer in international relations at the International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Ozkan concluded that Turkey's opening to Africa is driven by two factors: Turkey's need to diversify its economic relations in a new global economy and its reorientation in global politics.  Turkey-Africa relations remain fragile and their future depends much on Turkey's domestic political developments and interest by Africans.