By Orçun Göktürk / Beijing, China
The emergence of a more equitable multipolar world order, where power is distributed among many leading states rather than dominated by a single hegemon, offers significant opportunities for Türkiye. The transition away from a Western-centered paradigm towards an integrated Eurasian identity is the most important option for Turkish foreign policy.
Since the second half of the 20th century, Türkiye’s geopolitical strategy has been aligned with the Western bloc, characterized by NATO membership, the goal of European Union membership and strategic partnerships with Western countries. However, recent geopolitical dynamics and domestic political changes have led to a reassessment of this orientation. The shift to Eurasianism is not only a tactical maneuver, but also a strategic reorientation aimed at positioning Türkiye as a major player in the emerging Eurasian geography.
Türkiye’s foreign policy stance is, in the words of some experts, “historically very difficult to measure”. President Erdoğan, who attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State Summit in Astana on July 3-4, and also attended NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington on July 9-11. In between these two summits, Erdoğan was also supposed to attend the Organization of Turkic States Summit in Azerbaijan, but at the last minute, it was announced that this was canceled due to a schedule change and that he would go to Germany for the 2024 European Championship Quarterfinal match between Türkiye and the Netherlands. The most remarkable event in all this was Erdoğan’s participation in the SCO Head of States Summit, which can be called the sister organization of BRICS, and his meeting with Xi Jinping together with Putin after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said “BRICS can be an alternative to the EU” at a think tank in Beijing during his visit to China in early June.
SCO card against the West?
First, in 2013, Erdoğan, then Prime Minister, stated that negotiations with the EU were deadlocked and said, “I said let us join the Shanghai Five.”(1) Similarly, in 2016, Erdoğan stated that “Türkiye should not be stuck with the idea of joining the European Union and should look for other opportunities such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”(2) Erdoğan has made similar statements about BRICS. In July 2018, Erdoğan, who attended the 10th Summit of the Union in South Africa, went even further and suggested that “the letter T should be added to BRICS.”(3) And lastly, at a press conference after the NATO Summit, Erdoğan said, “Our aim is not to remain an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation, our goal is to become a permanent member there. We are already observers. Türkiye should go beyond that and join the SCO as a permanent member.” (4)
As a result of Türkiye’s irreconcilable contradictions with the West, which reached their peak with the American-Gulenist coup attempt in 2016, discussions on “changing the axis” in Türkiye’s foreign policy have increased. Of course, there are those who see this as “the BRICS and SCO cards being used as leverage against the West”. Add to all this, Türkiye’s purchase of S-400s from Russia on the one hand and the sale of military weapons to the Kyiv regime on the other, and the dilemma of Turkish foreign policy becomes clearer.
The tests of breaking from the Western blocks
The term “Western bloc” refers to the group of countries led by the United States of America during the Cold War (1947-1991). (5) Türkiye was made a member of NATO through its involvement in the Korean War and the “Little America” process was initiated. This meant the encirclement of Türkiye not only militarily but also politically and economically. Under the leadership of De Gaulle, France announced its withdrawal from the military wing of NATO in March 1966 and expelled all NATO bases and facilities, including the NATO Commander-in-Chief Headquarters, from French lands. Let us listen to De Gaulle’s account of why: “NATO was not a defense organization, it was an organization for the control of NATO members by the United States.”
In order to build a strategy, there must first be a program and the strategy is built according to this program. Türkiye’s recent coup attempt on July 15-16, 2016, the economic sanctions, the arming of the PKK-PYD and the process of statehood in northern Syria, and its internal and external confrontation with American imperialism over the military bases opened in Greece in the Aegean, have brought along the pangs of detachment from the West. Türkiye’s stance against the PKK and FETO is as important for our country’s independence as its foreign policy stance in favor of oppressed states, in line with its own interests. In addition to all these, the implementation of independent economic policies is also a supporting factor. When one of these elements is missing, there is no right program and the strategy is incomplete accordingly.
Although the Cold War ended in 1991, the term “Western bloc” is still used to describe these countries, historically allies and “oppressor states”. The US had transformed the world into a unipolar world order centered on this “Western bloc”. Since the first quarter of the 21st century, the “unipolar order” proclaimed by the US after the Soviet collapse has started to lose its relevance for the international order. Many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America are now demanding an alternative order and the world order has evolved towards a “multipolar” structure. Let us listen to the words of Russian leader Putin, first in 2022 and now again a few days ago at the SCO Summit in Astana: “You cannot escape it. The unipolar world order is over, despite all attempts to preserve it.”(6)
The solution that stands in front of Türkiye today is to meet with its friends in Asia against American imperialism, which defends this correct program and economically exploits the laborers and producers of Türkiye, militarily threatens itself, arming separatist organizations and driving them against Türkiye, culturally trying to abuse our children, our future and our family structure with the LGBTI agenda. The solution is waiting to come to life in the right strategy of the Vatan Party, which defends the right program. This is not Türkiye seeking an alternative to the West, NATO and the EU. It is to make a decisive break with it and to greet the rise of a new human, virtuous and upright civilization. Türkiye must take leading positions in the internationalization of the New Civilization rising from Asia, which is more just, egalitarian and respectful of the internal affairs of countries.
Sources
(1) TRT. “Let us join the Shanghai Five and leave the EU”. January 26, 2013. https://www.trthaber.com/haber/turkiye/bizi-sangay-beslisine-alin-abden-ayrilalim-72374.html.
(2) Reuters. “Fed up with EU, Erdogan says Türkiye could join Shanghai bloc.” October 20, 2016. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN13F0D1/.
(3) Türkiye Gazetesi Avrupa. “Historic proposal: ‘T’ could be added to BRICS”. July 29, 2018. https://turkiyegazetesi.de/tarihi-teklif-bricse-t-harfi-eklenebilir/.
(4) BBC News Turkish. “Türkiye, NATO üyesiyken Şanghay İşbirliği Örgütü’ne katılabilir mi?” July 14, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/turkce/articles/cerv2yx9ddxo.
(5) “Western Bloc.” In The Cold War: A Global History, 1947-1991, edited by John Smith, 25-42. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
(6) TASS. “Unipolar world order gone forever, Putin says”. June 17, 2022. https://tass.com/politics/1467581.