A Study On Turkish Policy Towards Central Asia In The Post-Cold War Era

Identity is an important approach for foreign policy analysis.After the founding of Turkish Republic,Kemal established an identity of a secular and modern state.Turkey pursued a pro-west foreign policy in the Cold War years.In the post-Cold War era,when the Central Asian Republics(CARs)gained their independence Turkey began to take an active part in the region as a Turkic state.Turkish policy toward Central Asia can be divided into three periods: the Ozal period,the coalition government period,and the Justice and Development or the AKP period.During the Ozal period(1991-1993),Turkey faced historic opportunity in Central Asia because Russia wanted to throw the burden of Central Asia,the U.S.encouraged Central Asia republics to learn the “Turkish Model”,and the Kemalists,Islamists,and pan-Turkism nationalists all supported the government to develop close relations with Central Asia.Under the influence of Ozal,Turkey set a “leadership” identity for itself with the establishment of an alliance of Turkic-Speaking Countries as the central goal of its foreign policy in Central Aisa.The ways to become the “leader” included holding the Turkic Summit,providing large amount of aid,attracting Central Asia students to study in Turkey,encouraging CARs to adopt the Latin letters,and so on.The Central Asian republics welcomed Turkey's help but rejected the establishment of an alliance of Turkic states and Turkey's “leadership” as well.In the coalition governments period(1993-2002),the competition between the U.S.and Russia began to grow in Central Asia.Turkey was unstable politically due to the rise of political Islam and the Kurdish issue.Turkish economy was under the pressure of huge foreign debts and high inflation rates.The Ciller administration established an identity of the“bridge” between the east and west,which was followed by the other coalition governments.Turkey maintained political cooperation with CARs via the Turkic Summit and tried to win the support for its “bridge” status.In the field of energy,Turkey and Russia both competed for and cooperated on the directions of the Caspian energy pipelines.In terms of culture,Turkey continued the policy of attracting Central Asian students and set up Turkish schools in Central Asia counties to promote Turkish language and culture.As for aid policy,Turkey allocated the most amount of aid to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.The passion of CARs to develop political cooperation with Turkey declined.However,they were happy to do business with Turkey.The“bridge” identity won the support to some degree from the CARs,but not recognized by the E.U.In the AKP period(2002-today),Turkey faced a good environment in Central Asia with the stationing of American troops in the region,Russia looking to improve foreign relations,and Turkey's domestic stability.Under these conditions,Turkey chose the identity of a “Central Power” in several regions.The Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking Countries(CCTC),established in 2009,provided Turkey with an international organization to exert its influence in Eurasia.Thanks to CCTC,Turkey developed practical cooperation with the CARs in the field of trade,transportation,and custom service.In terms of energy,Turkey actively seeks cooperation with CARs with its advantage as an energy hub consisting of BTC oil pipeline and BTE gas pipeline.Both Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have been exporting energy to Turkey through the above-mentioned pipelines.With regard to aid policy,Turkey reformed the structure of the Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency(TIKA)to enhance its efficiency.Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were the most important Turkish aid receiving states in Central Asia.In addition,Turkey gave more military aids to Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,and Uzbekistan in order to exert its influence in the security area.At present,Turkey and CARs relations consist of three levels with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan at the top,Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the middle,and Tajikistan at the bottom.CARs respond positively to Turkey's foreign policy during the AKP period and the political as well as the trade relations between the two sides develop swiftly.Turkish foreign policy guided by“Central Power” identity highlights Turkey's dominant position in regional politics and turns out to be appealing to CARs.However,its long-term effects need to be observed.Turkish policy toward Central Asia has been influenced by several external and internal factors.Firstly,the interests and policy of Russia in Central Asia makes it impossible for Turkey to establish an alliance of Turkic states.The level of support for the cooperation among the Turkic states from CARs is also affected by the Russian factor.Secondly,the game between the U.S.and Russia may lead to instability in Central Asia,thus posing uncertainty to Turkey's policy outcome.The game may also result in the splits among CARs and Turkey needs to address the splits when pursuing its interests.Keeping a balance between the U.S.and Russia and avoiding the trap of being dragged into conflicts are challenges for Turkey.Thirdly,Iran,which borders Central Asia and has close connections with the region,both competes and cooperates with Turkey.Iran's activities may affect Turkey's interests in the fields of trade and culture,but will not challenge Turkey's core interests.Fourthly,Turkey needs to cope with the disputes among CARs while developing friendly relations with them.The balanced foreign policy orientation of CARs means Turkey will not gain greater influence than it has today.Finally,Turkey's foreign policy priority is now the Middle East and as a middle power Turkey cannot ensure sustained resource going to several regions.Thus,the position of Central Asia in Turkey's foreign policy is declining.Besides,the different positions and goals of bureaucratic organizations in Turkey makes its foreign policy toward Central Asia inconsistent and incoherent.Turkish foreign policy has some negative effects on China's security and energy interests since Chinas borders three CARs.However,the mainstream in China-Turkey relations is cooperation,the potential of which is great in counter-terrorism and infrastructure construction.Turkish policy toward Central Asia has four features.Identity has decisive effects on Turkey's policy.Turkey's policy is also greatly affected the Russian factor.Culture,aid,and energy are the three areas that Turkey's policy focuses on during all three periods.Tajikistan is at the edge of Turkey's policy,but is not neglected completely.Secondly,Turkey plays three roles in Central Asia: the advocator of pan-Turkism culture,the ally of the west,and pragmatic cooperator.Lastly,cooperation with Russia will be the precondition for Turkey's foreign policy toward Central Asia.Central Asia will remain at the edge of Turkey's foreign policy and the three levels of Turkey's relations with CARs will remain stable.However,Turkey cannot develop closer relations with CARs than it has now.The choice of identity will be central for the success of Turkey's foreign policy toward Central Asia.