Russian officials of the BRICS Presidency of 2024 have publicly announced that Türkiye has applied for full membership of the biggest non-Western economic block. A first NATO member, a candidate for membership in the European Union and a self-avowed "Western" nation, Türkiye has already been heavily criticized by its NATO allies for shifting away from the Western alliance and Western values. BRICS, a group that stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa; before it expanded recently to include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Iran and Ethiopia, constitutes the biggest population in the world, the second largest economy together and a rising economic and technological competitor to the West.

With nearly 45% of the global population and 31.5% of the worldwide economy, they surpass the G7 of the developed nations of the West. BRICS emerges as an alternative to Western technological know-how and development. The COVID-19 crisis has shown that the BRICS nations were more equipped and ready to support global health. BRICS nations have become partners of major underdeveloped or developing nations, replacing Western nations. Militarily, the BRICS nations have upgraded their defense and significantly reduced their dependency on the West. As a result, many unilateral sanctions imposed by the Western nations, mainly the United States, on several non-Western nations, such as Russia, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Libya or other nations, have either failed or have had limited impacts. BRICS members have often refused to implement unilateral sanctions in their bilateral trades and have continued transactions with Russia or Iran. With the New Development Bank (NDB), BRICS is trying to become an alternative to the IMF, providing only financial support with harsher stipulations.

Rush to BRICS?

Developing nations of the Global South have found more support from Russia, China and India than from the West in accessing global financial, technological and diplomatic opportunities. China’s Belt and Road Initiative, India’s Africa Initiative and Russia’s continued defense supplies to non-Western support have provided more international platforms to developing nations in the last few decades.

Compared to the West, the non-Western terms and conditions for trade and investments are more accessible, inclusive and nonbinding. The ease of doing business, unrestricted technological access, lack of threat of U.S.-led sanctions and emerging global role of the non-western bloc at the international level have attracted many countries to join BRICS. Furthermore, the BRICS members advocate a multipolar world order more fiercely as the existing global governance faces a series of challenges. Türkiye’s desire to join the non-Western group has raised concerns among the West, especially NATO.

Perfect partnership

Türkiye has seen a gradual and steady shift in its foreign trade and defense relations, in which Türkiye’s trade relations with Asia and the Middle East have improved significantly. China, India and Russia now constitute Türkiye's second-largest trade relations after Europe. The high growth rate of Asian and declining European economies have favored Türkiye’s shift to Asia. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, "Türkiye can become a strong, prosperous, prestigious and effective country if it simultaneously improves its relations with the East and the West. Any method other than this will not benefit Türkiye but will harm it."

However, while Türkiye has a trade surplus with Europe, India and China, Türkiye’s trade deficit has persisted for a decade now. Given the size of the Indian and Chinese economies, both countries will enjoy this superiority. However, if Türkiye wants to have more balanced relations with China and India, it needs to think beyond bilateral trade. By joining BRICS, Türkiye will access more opportunities and resources to access financial resources, technology, human resources and markets.

With nearly half a million tourists, Türkiye has become an attractive destination for Asian tourists. Turkish universities have attracted a large number of Asian students from Indonesia, India, Pakistan, the Philippines and other countries. Türkiye’s joining BRICS is an essential step toward the gradual integration of Türkiye into the Asian economy. This will then follow an understanding of taxation, currency swaps, visa relaxation and cybersecurity. In exchange, BRICS, too, is set to gain to promote multipolarity and non-Western institutions in the Middle East and Eurasia. Türkiye’s rising economy, technological prowess and defense capabilities have proved that Türkiye is not stuck in the Cold War era’s ideological fault lines.

Future with West

Türkiye’s NATO membership and customs agreement with the EU remains a cornerstone of Türkiye’s foreign and defense policy. Türkiye’s close relations with BRICS have raised questions about Türkiye’s future in its traditional alliance, NATO, and future membership of the EU. Before Türkiye applied for BRICS membership, Türkiye had already purchased a Russian S-400 air defense system that experts say can’t be interoperable. By acquiring the Russian system, Türkiye had to sacrifice the most advanced F-35 fighter jet in which it was a partner. European nations may use Türkiye’s interest in BRICS to delay further EU accession dialogue, which has remained frozen since 2005.

Ankara says that Türkiye does not see BRICS as an alternative or replacement for its Western partners, namely NATO and EU. However, Türkiye also accuses the EU of stalling the accession dialogue for political reasons and that the Turkish economy cannot afford an indefinite wait and uncertainty. Ankara now sees an opportunity to leverage its relations with Asia and Europe to benefit both sides of the continent. Türkiye explains that its mediation efforts to resolve the Ethiopia-Somalia and Ukraine-Russia conflicts and its growing defense export to Asia and the Middle East are to help both blocs.

Domestic pressures

Even though Türkiye’s domestic public opinion remains highly favorable to close ties with Europe and the West, there is a gradual realization that the Turkish economy has more to gain if they are in good relations with China, India and Russia. In the last few months, high-level meetings between Turkish and Chinese officials have discussed cooperation in telecommunication, 5G, cybersecurity, electric vehicles and critical infrastructure.

As Türkiye is anxiously working to diversify its economy to create thousands of jobs beyond traditional construction and tourism sectors, close relations with BRICS are the best chance to expand Türkiye’s knowledge economy and become a technology hub. The ongoing economic crisis in Türkiye is partly to be blamed on the lack of interest of European technology actors in partnering with Turkish industries and Türkiye’s young and trained workforce.

Suppose Türkiye does not partner with Asian economies to develop its knowledge economy and provide technology-driven job opportunities to its workforce. In that case, Türkiye’s economic woes might have to wait longer. Türkiye’s bilateral and multilateral collaboration with Asian economies will not just be an economic opportunity for Türkiye but will also democratize the existing world order and pressure the Western bloc to reform the international system to make it more inclusive and representative.