World politics is witnessing new geopolitical transformations. The gradual weakening of international institutions, especially the UN, in producing security and peace prepares all countries for new solutions, cooperation and competition.
Great power competition, accelerated by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, brings to light new moves and projects. Western alliance solidarity against Russia, US to limit China for bilateral in Asia-Pacific, Creating new tripartite collaborations, six members of BRICS acceptance, EU enlargement to re-introduce and Normalization in the Middle East processesjust a few main topics of global diplomatic dynamism.
Rising and regional powers are re-evaluating their international position and developing their own “strategic autonomy” perspective. Britain, Germany, France, Brazil, India and Türkiye can be given as examples.
Thus, projects involving supply chains and energy are becoming more on the agenda. China initiated earlier Generation Road Project and New Delhi Announced at the G20 Summit India-Middle East-Europe corridortwo examples of this.
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As one of the earliest actors to realize that such an international environment was coming, Turkey determined its own “strategic autonomy” framework after many experiences.
This is the essence of the “Turkey Axis” conceptualization that President Erdoğan emphasized in his 2023 election manifesto.
Turkey first focused on its fight against terrorist organizations with a pro-active security approach and used hard force if necessary for its national interests. 2016 military operations after (Syria, Iraq, Libya and Eastern Mediterrenian)example of this. Later, it consolidated its gains and reduced costs with the normalization it carried out after 2020. Thus, Türkiye was repositioned in the international system.
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This new position is a line within the Western Alliance that only diversifies and develops its own relations with the East to the extent possible.
It includes a self-confident approach that does not confine relations with Russia, China and other countries to rote bloc policies.
Türkiye accepts this real approach. In the fight against PKK and FETO It existed by confronting the phenomenon of the USA and the EU ignoring Turkey’s vital interests.
It came by balancing Russia and regional powers in an equation of competition and cooperation. Zangezur corridor, Central Corridor, Türkiye-Iraq Development Path, Regional energy cooperation with Israel and even normalization with Greece joint logistics turning into the futureProjects and pursuits such as these are all products of the same diplomatic dynamism.
International politics is in a period of “transition and rebalancing”. As a country that belongs to both the West and the East, both the North and the South, Turkey is in a position to manage the effects of current global uncertainties and competitions. It also has a high diplomatic dynamism for its opportunities.
