Erdoğan's Neo-Ottoman Ambitions Turning Eastward
by Burak Bekdil • January 28, 2022 at 5:00 am
Obsessed with reviving Turks' imperial days of glory, Erdoğan is turning to Turkey's east to create a pan-Turkic/Islamist strategic alliance consisting of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan, with part-time, tactical alliances with Iran, Qatar and Bangladesh.
The idea is to bring together three Muslim nations: NATO member Turkey; Azerbaijan with its rich hydrocarbon resources and growing military capabilities; and Pakistan with its nuclear weapons.
It is not a coincidence that Erdoğan has visited Azerbaijan more than 20 times during his presidency.
Ankara appears to hope that the U.S. exit from Afghanistan has created space for the leadership role of Turkey and Pakistan.
It all looks promising. Except it is not.
The Turkey-led move to upgrade Turkic-speaking states' cooperation into a political unit that could weaken Beijing's and Moscow's influence in Central Asia will no doubt come under close Chinese and Russian scrutiny.
In theory, Iran is Turkey's "Muslim brother." In reality, it is (Sunni) Turkey's (Shia) sectarian adversary, historical rival and cross-border contender in Shia-majority Iraq and Shia-ruled Syria.
And, finally, Russia. Azerbaijan is still more of a Russian turf, than a Turkish one. More Azeris speak Russian than those who love to roar the Turkic slogan "one nation, two states." Pakistan remains China's strongest ally and appears happy to consider itself Chinese territory.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ambitious neo-Ottoman policy calculus has earned Turkey unprecedented international isolation. Turkey won the title of being the world's only country that was sanctioned by all of the United States, Russia and the European Union in the past five years. Turkey's negotiations for full membership in the EU have come to a halt and the European Council has started infringement procedures against NATO's only Muslim member state. Obsessed with reviving Turks' imperial days of glory, Erdoğan is turning to Turkey's east to create a pan-Turkic/Islamist strategic alliance consisting of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan, with part-time, tactical alliances with Iran, Qatar and Bangladesh.
The idea is to bring together three Muslim nations: NATO member Turkey; Azerbaijan with its rich hydrocarbon resources and growing military capabilities; and Pakistan with its nuclear weapons.
