Since the restructuring of the state administration in the wake of the failed coup attempt in July 2016, Türkiye has been following a holistic foreign policy. Several significant changes were made to increase the effectiveness of Turkish foreign policy.
First of all, with the introduction of a new governmental system, the presidential system, strong civilian leadership was enacted. Second, with the separation of internal and external security, security institutions such as the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) have begun playing a more effective role in foreign policy issues. Third, with the establishment of some new state institutions dealing with foreign policy issues and the transformation of some state institutions, the number of foreign policy actors has increased.
Since then, Türkiye has begun following an effective foreign policy in the security arena as a result of high-level harmony between security institutions and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Furthermore, this large-scale harmony among foreign policy actors has enabled Türkiye to mobilize hard, smart and soft power at the same time, which is an indication of Türkiye’s high-level capacity and strategic autonomy. All Turkish and foreign observers know well that all these were achieved under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was elected as the president of Türkiye for the third consecutive period in the recent elections.
Those who are aware of these changes in Türkiye have been taking different positions according to these new developments. While some countries have begun to recognize Türkiye as a respected regional power and global actor, some others such as the Western countries, who have been trying to maintain their hierarchical relations with Ankara, have been trying to undermine Türkiye’s autonomous foreign policy orientation.
Therefore, many Western states overtly and covertly mobilized their resources to support the opposition and to prevent the reelection of President Erdoğan. Many Western media outlets have gone ahead with many anti-Erdoğan publications to influence public opinion and alter election results. For instance, one of the leading British media outlets, The Economist, dedicated a special issue to Türkiye’s recent elections. It has used outrageous slogans such as “Erdoğan must go” and “save democracy,” undermining the 70-year democratic tradition of Türkiye. Many other American, British, French and German media outlets published similar biased news reports about Türkiye and Erdoğan.
In spite of all the negative and biased media coverage in the West, the Turkish people once more showed their democratic maturity with a record-high participation in the elections and thus falsified the Westerners and their internal supporters, which form a coalition that undermine the preference and priorities of the Turkish people. The Turkish people reelected Erdoğan, who has won all elections that he participated in, thereby setting a record. It is clear that as long as this Jacobin coalition ignores the realities of the country, they are doomed to err about Türkiye.
As we witnessed during the recent election campaigns, many Westerners continue to follow the developments in Türkiye through their local sympathizers. As a result of the widespread misinformation and biased media coverage, most local and foreign journalists and academicians from the anti-Erdoğan coalition, who have been belittling the Turkish people for decades, were quite sure that they would defeat Erdoğan in the elections.
Many well-known journalists and academicians who are detached from the reality of the country acted as trolls and shallow sympathizers of the West. They have continued to insult the values of the Turkish people during the election campaign. A great majority of this Westernized and staunchly secular Turkish elite feel closer to the perception of the Western countries and prefer a Western-dependent Türkiye to an independent Türkiye. In other words, neither the West nor their internal sympathizers want Türkiye to take the initiative in international politics and pursue an independent foreign policy.
However, once again they have learned their lessons from the Turkish people. The increased awareness of the Turkish people motivates public opinion to protect the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is determined to raise the Turkish flag in international politics and maximize Turkish national interests against Western onslaughts. The Turkish people know well that the main objective of the Erdoğan government, which resists Western pressure, is to secure a respected place for the Turkish state.
Within this context, while President Erdoğan and other officials from his team are determined to protect its common interests and alignment with the West, they want to maximize the national interests of Türkiye and achieve strategic autonomy in international politics. Although this is a change in political discourse and foreign policy behavior, it does not mean a complete deviation from the West. Türkiye just wants to redefine its relations with the West based on new realities on both sides. In other words, Ankara wants to establish a new type of relationship based on equal partnership, which is generally rejected by Western countries. It seems that there is no other option for the West but to learn the new context of relations with Türkiye and accept the new reality.
