On Turkey's Trail As a “Rising Middle Power” in the Network of Global Governance: Preferences, Capabilities, and Strategie
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On Turkey’s Trail as a “Rising Middle Power” in the Network of Global Governance: Preferences, Capabilities, and Strategies Emel Parlar DAL* Abstract Key Words Acknowledging Turkey as a “rising/emerging Global governance, international order, Turkish middle power”, occupying a middle ground foreign policy, rising middle powers, traditional between traditional (or Western) middle powers middle powers, emerging non-traditional middle and non-traditional middle powers, this paper powers, G20. aims to reassess Turkey’s changing power and position in the complex power hierarchies and the changing architecture of global governance Introduction through its preferences, capabilities and strategies by using a comparative analysis. It then briefly resumes its findings to assess the driving factors, In recent years, one of the most conditions and specific characteristics explaining important debates in international Turkey’s contribution to global governance politics is about the ongoing global power compared to a cluster of eight selected countries shifts occurring in the international composed of the five BRICS countries, labeled as non-traditional middle powers, and Canada, system in favor of the rising powers, Australia and South Korea, as traditional middle and the impact of power transition on powers. Finally, it looks at Turkey’s contribution the international system and global to global governance at the institutional level, with a special focus on Turkey’s 2015 G20 governance. In this new world structure, presidency as a test case for understanding its rising middle powers have started to take global governance activism. In the final analysis, over a prominent role from the major this study underlines that Turkey’s ambitious agenda for its G20 presidency gives clear signals powers and have sought to change the of its future preferences and middle power international system in line with their activism in less hierarchical G20-type forums in own interests, strategies and values, by which developed and developing countries are assuming new responsibilities in major equally represented and middle power countries are allowed more manoeuvring capacity. international organizations. Since the global financial crisis in 2008, we have been witnessing the ascendance of “the * Assoc. Prof. Dr., Marmara University, West and the rest” discourse in the so- International Relations Department, Faculty called “post-American” or “emerging of Political Science, Anadoluhisarı Campus, Beykoz, İstanbul. international system,” in which the rising E-mail: [email protected] middle powers have already engaged 107 PERCEPTIONS, Winter 2014, Volume XIX, Number 4, pp. 107-136. Emel Parlar Dal in developing alternative strategies for and strategies of rising powers in the solving the international problems context of major/great powers, traditional and strengthened their bargaining and (or Western) middle powers, and non- pressure capacities towards the Western traditional (or emerging) middle powers. powers. For instance, Russia and China are labeled both as major, rising and regional powers, while Australia and Canada Rising middle powers have (which are conceptualized in this study started to take over a prominent as “rising traditional middle powers”) are role from the major powers generally considered as both traditional and have sought to change the middle powers and regional powers international system in line with and, to a lesser extent, rising powers, their own interests, strategies due to their rising economies. Similarly, and values, by assuming some countries like Brazil, India, South new responsibilities in major Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, Argentina, and Turkey are labeled both as “rising international organizations. powers” and “emerging/non-traditional middle powers” (but are labeled in this The way, with which preferences study as rising (or emerging) middle and capabilities, and through which powers). strategies, the rising middle powers have Given this overlapping conceptual been contributing to global governance, framework, Turkey has generally been is an understudied field in the neglected in most of the studies in IR International Relations (IR) literature on rising powers and middle powers in terms of theoretical and empirical despite its rising middle power status studies. On the other hand, there exists a over the last decade. One of the novelties conceptual ambiguity in the IR literature of this paper is to reassess Turkey’s around concepts that have generally been changing power status in the complex used in an interchangeable way, such as power hierarchies and categories under “rising (or emerging) powers”, “middle the auspices of “rising/emerging middle or middle range powers” and “regional powers” occupying a middle ground powers,” and these overlapping roles between traditional middle powers and make the analysis more complicated non-traditional middle powers, mainly and contested. Another aspect of this due to its unique position and its bridge- fluidity of concepts is an increasing need building role between “the West and the to provide an empirical and comparative rest”. Another novelty of this paper to the research on the preferences, capabilities IR and Turkish foreign policy literature 108 On Turkey’s Trail as a “Rising Middle Power” in the Network of Global Governance is to understand Turkey’s position and systematic comparative study by taking contribution in the changing architecture into consideration different variables. of global governance. Here, Turkey’s In this backdrop, the first part of this capability in the global governance will paper looks towards Turkey’s preferences, be compared using appropriate statistical capabilities, and strategies with respect data with those of the selected other eight to global governance. Accordingly, states, including the five BRICS states firstly Turkey’s preferences regarding the (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South changing international order and global Africa) and three traditional middle governance structure will be explained. powers, Canada, Australia and South Secondly, in order to understand Korea. This cluster of eight states is Turkey’s rising middle power capabilities, selected mainly due to their representative a comparative approach based on five character of the two different rising criteria previously used by Hongying “middle power” categories, non traditional Wang and Erik French in their 2013 and traditional. A third novelty of this article entitled “Middle Range Powers in paper is to use Turkey’s current presidency Global Governance”1 will be used. On to the G20, since December 2014, as a the basis of the interpretation of data in test case for understanding its global our tables, this study will briefly resume governance activism as a rising middle its findings to assess the driving factors, power in the light of the triad, preferences, specific conditions and characteristics capabilities, strategies. explaining Turkey’s contribution to global Not all countries who joined the governance as a “distinct” rising middle rank of rising powers or middle range power. Thirdly, Turkey’s global governance powers have actively been engaged strategies in terms of commonalities and with international institutions or global differences with those of other rising governance and have been keen on middle powers will be explained. Here, assuming more responsability in a post- the way Turkey’s “unique” rising middle American world order. Of course, it is power status simultaneously generates a complex task to depict under which different and accommodating perspectives circumstances, within which membership and outcomes in the shifting world to international organizations and on the order compared to other rising middle basis of which ideational and material powers will also be explained. The second contributions rising middle powers part of the paper will look at Turkey’s participate in global governance. How contribution to global governance at the well or poorly a state has contributed to institutional level, with a special focus on global governance needs to be empirically Turkey’s more ambitious policies towards researched, and this of course requires a the G20. 109 Emel Parlar Dal Turkey as a Rising Middle Cyprus conflict). Similarly, the successive Yougoslavian crisis triggered in the 1990s Power in the Existing Global led to the rise of an international order Governance: Preferences, criticism-based discourse in Turkish Capabilities and Strategies foreign policy. The Iraqi War of 2003 and the Arab revolts which started in late 2010 Turkey’s attention to the architecture of all made Turkey’s UN-centered order global governance goes back to the 1920s, criticism more apparent in its foreign 4 when it first criticized the decision-making policy. Turkey’s rising criticism of the mechanisms and structure of the League UN’s unfair decision-making mechanisms of Nations, established in the aftermath has increased its tone with the deterioration of the First World War in the framework of the Syrian civil war after 2012. Since of the unfolding of a collective security Turkey’s quest for international justice understanding. In its session on 16 for the deepening Syrian tragedy in the December 1925, to which Turkey did not major global governance institutions, as well as regional organizations have proven participate, the League of Nations (LN) abortive, its within system challenge decided to leave Mosul to Iraq under the to international order started to be mandate of