The 'Century of Turkiye': A New Foreign Policy Vision for Building the Turkiye Axis.

• Author: Ataman, Muhittin

Introduction: A Fresh Perspective on Foreign Policy (*)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been ruling Turkiye for the last two decades, made a very important statement at the unveiling ceremony of the Century of Turkiye program in Ankara on October 28, 2022. (1) Although some observers viewed that document as part of his campaign strategy, the truth is that the Century of Turkiye vision identifies the Turkish Republic's long-term objectives and charts the future course of Turkish foreign policy. (2) Meanwhile, other commentators argued that Erdogan's address represented a "call to finish building a great and mighty Turkiye together." (3)

A skillful politician vis-a-vis the development of new projects, President Erdogan set a number of targets for the 21st century, which he described as the Century of Turkiye. Having previously set ambitious targets for 2023, 2053, and 2071, he most recently identified Turkiye's objectives and expectations within the context of its efforts to become a global power. It is important to note that 2053 will mark the 600th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, which destroyed the Byzantine Empire and transformed the Ottomans into a truly powerful state, whereas 2071 will be the 1000th anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert which Muslim Turks won to be able to call Anatolia their homeland.

It is possible to summarize President Erdogan's address, which he delivered on the eve of the end of the Turkish Republic's first century (1923-2023), in three parts. The first part of his speech dealt with the AK Party's past efforts to address the Turkish political system's deadlocks and shortcomings. Specifically, Erdogan recalled that Turkiye had encountered various domestic and foreign threats in the 20th century, which his governments successfully neutralized. The Turkish President devoted the second part of his address to Turkiye's achievements under the AK Party governments and provided a detailed account of reforms enacted in various fields. At the same time, he described the previous two decades as a period when the Republic addressed its shortcomings and completed its preparations for its second century.

The third part, in turn, was about President Erdogan outlining Turkiye's vision for the 21st century and identifying its future goals. Noting that "We added character to our foreign policy to make our state more powerful, our flag more glorious and our nation more respected," he made the case that Turkiye had become a country that others follow, as opposed to a country following others. (4) Furthermore, Erdogan reiterated his commitment to making Turkiye one of the world's top ten nations in politics, economy, technology, military, and diplomacy. He also shared his views on the global system to argue that the Century of Turkiye represents a revolutionary change that would bring democracy, development, peace, and welfare to the entire planet. Accordingly, the Turkish leader stated that his administration would prioritize international principles and take into account multilateral considerations as opposed to just Turkiye's interests: "We share with humanity the news that the Century of Turkiye represents a revolution that shall bring democracy, development, peace, and welfare to all parts of the world--starting with our country and our region." (5) That sentence was an expression of the plan to build the Turkiye Axis.

Nonetheless, Erdogan acknowledged the various obstacles before Turkiye's goals and objectives to stress that the country found itself at a critical junction. Accordingly, he argued that the nation would either join the group of top nations or face the risk of lagging behind once again--depending on its future steps. (6) Consequently, President Erdogan emphasized the necessity of addressing numerous challenges to achieve these objectives.

The vision document titled the Century of Turkiye, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled on the AK Party's behalf, features concepts directly expressing or reflecting the nation's new foreign policy vision and related issues. Having overseen the transformation of Turkiye's domestic politics and foreign policy since their rise to power, President Erdogan and the AK Party thus established how they could take additional steps, and toward which goals.

This study analyzes how the AK Party government's foreign policy reflects the vision document's various elements and the objectives identified therein. It will also discuss the role that the party's track record over two decades and future projections played (or will play) in attempts to build the Turkiye Axis. Since that concept has not been in circulation for a long time and therefore has not been a subject of comprehensive debate in the academic literature, this article will rely on President Erdogan's address at the vision's unveiling ceremony.

An Independent Turkiye Capable of Autonomous Action

Over the last decade, the common denominator of the national, regional, and global contexts of Turkish foreign policy has been the pursuit of independence. (7) In the Century of Turkiye, the country seeks to refine its Ankara-centric foreign policy approach, which prioritizes its own interests. At the same time, it is committed to upholding the humanitarian aspect of Turkish foreign policy, signaling that 'a fairer world is possible' while still prioritizing Turkish interests. Having been shaped by comprehensive normalization, change, and consolidation in domestic politics, that new approach helped the country develop a new vision called the Century of Turkiye.

One of the primary prerequisites for implementing the concept of independence was freeing Turkiye from both domestic and foreign tutelage. Since coming to power in 2002, the AK Party was compelled to channel a significant part of its energy into eliminating the tutelage in domestic politics. The bureaucratic-military guardianship regime had stood in the way of Turkish politics for many years. The AK Party and President Erdogan oversaw major changes in domestic politics to end tutelage. According to Erdogan, the guardianship regime had victimized many groups: "Muslims excluded due to their beliefs," "Kurds facing discrimination due to their language," "Alevis encountering pressure due to their denomination," and "Christians and Jews--the sons and daughters of this land--who have been treated unfairly." (8) In other words, tutelage did not just target politicians; all social groups experienced it in their own way.

Stressing that the fight against domestic and global tutelage represented the most important step toward enabling Turkiye to pursue an independent policy, the Turkish leader stated that the country had largely eliminated the bureaucratic guardianship regime at home and made significant progress toward terminating the global tutelage. He outlined his views on this issue by announcing that "Even our decision to reinstate the Hagia Sophia as a mosque, in line with Mehmed the Conqueror's testament, was a great challenge against global guardianship." (9)

One of the essential prerequisites for any state to take significant steps toward independence is to reduce its dependency on foreign defense industry. Over the last two decades, Turkiye took revolutionary steps in this field to strengthen its capacity, capabilities, and deterrence. According to recent statements by senior officials of Turkiye, the country has already made significant progress toward making its defense industry self-sufficient and currently meets more than 80 percent of its demand for weapons and ammunition with its own resources. (10)

Secondly, ensuring long-term stability in domestic politics is vitally important, which in turn, requires any country to fight terrorism with its own resources. Turkiye currently possesses the capability to achieve this goal. In addition to carrying out a 'silent revolution' (11) in domestic politics, the AK Party and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have governed Turkiye for two decades to generate political stability and, by extension, facilitate bold steps in foreign policy.

Enhancing the Diversity of Actors in Turkish Foreign Policy

Turkiye's transition to the 'presidency' system of government entailed major shifts in the functions of foreign policy actors. Turkiye, which moved to diversify its foreign policy actors as a requirement of being a great state, various other agencies and institutions began to make significant contributions to the planning and implementation of foreign policy. This diversification of foreign policy actors was not only a response to the demands of a great state but also harmonized with the nation's holistic approach to foreign affairs. Specifically, in addition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has traditionally been responsible for foreign policy, the Ministry of National Defense and the National Intelligence Organization (Milli Istihbarat Teskilati, MIT) emerged as the main actors of foreign policy.

As part of the Turkic state's restructuring, a groundbreaking transformation occurred, delineating the realms and actors of domestic security from those of foreign policy. Accordingly, the Ministry of National Defense (Milli Savunma Bakanligi, MSB), starting with the Turkish Armed Forces (Turk Silahli Kuvvetleri, TSK) as its most important institution, was overhauled under the new political system and transformed into an agency exclusively responsible for external security. At the same time, the Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard began to report to the Ministry of Interior, which assumed complete responsibility for domestic security.

After these changes, currently Turkiye's main actors that are concerned with Turkiye's external threats and security are the MSB, the TSK, the MIT, and the Defense Industry Agency (Savunma Sanayii Baskanligi, SSB). Having assumed the responsibility for defending the country against external, as opposed to internal, threats, MSB, TSK, and MIT made game-changing...