Turkey's niche diplomacy..?

The bipolarity during the Cold War has changed into multi-dimensional power structures since the fall of communism. The US has remained the most powerful actor from a military and security point of view; however the importance of military capacity appears to have decreased. One of the reasons for this is that the policy agenda since the 1990s has shifted much focus on ‘new’ issues, such as; human rights, poverty and the environment . These issues require problem-solving through coalitions, or established institutions. This new global arena provides opportunities for the middle powers to become involved in policy initiatives. A middle power is one that is weaker than the superpowers but stronger than the small countries (in military and economic aspects). States such as Canada, Norway and Australia have been able to practice this ‘middle power-diplomacy’ by attempting to identify their ‘niche’ by considering their resources and reputational qualifications, as well as the consideration of functional determinants. As these states cannot, and are not expected to do everything, they can be selective and prioritise as to where they put their resources. (Cooper, 1997:1-6) Gareth Evans, the former Australian foreign minister, defined niche diplomacy as; “concentrating resources in specific areas best able to generate returns worth having, rather than trying to cover the field”. (as quoted in Cooper, 1997:5) The changing nature and issues in the international system have suggested that regional politics are becoming more important and subsequently, the middle powers in their respective regions have had the opportunity to become more influential.

A country that has this potential is Turkey, as it can be defined both as a middle power and a regional power. Turkey’s role and power may have a lot to do with its location, and from a Western point of view; the fact that it is a secular Islamic democracy. Turkey is a member of various international organizations such as; United Nations, NATO, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as well as being a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). These memberships put Turkey in a unique position as it has the ability to build bridges between different parts of the world. (Muftuler, Yuksel, 1997:184-189) It also has strong political, economic, cultural, and economic ties to the West, the Middle East, the Balkans, as well as Central Asia. (Muftuler, Yuksel, 1997:195) Turkey has in recent years undertaken many internal reforms due to the European Union requirements for membership, however there are still issues regarding North Cyprus and the Kurdish minority within the country. Nevertheless, with its location and international ties, its niche diplomacy can perhaps entail conflict mediation and multilateral diplomacy, if it can find a neutral ground.

“Whether in Afghanistan or the Middle East, Turkey has a credibility that others in the West just can’t hope to have. So I’ve come here to make the case for Turkey to use this credibility, to go further in enhancing our security and working for peace across our world.”

(David Cameron, in a speech during a visit to Turkey, 27 July 2010)