Webinar: The Foreign Policy of Turkey

On the 1st of July the Zimbabwe Institute of Diplomacy hosted a webinar with the Africa Foundation on the Turkish Foreign Policy under Regional Geopolitical Anxiety, presented by Professor Dr Murat Yeşiltaş.

The presentation shed light on why Turkey has adopted more assertive practices. The use of military force and power maximization has become the linchpin in its new foreign policy formulation as well as, the driving force behind Turkey’s new assertive discourse and practices such as the major foreign policy perspective shaping its bilateral relations and its motivation in regional and international politics. Three perspectives were highlighted, i.e Erdoğan reductionism, domestic approaches and the International approaches.

The professor also focused on the Turkish Foreign and Security Policy: assertiveness and strategic autonomy and gave a comprehensible presentation explaining the drivers, objectives and the pillars of the policy. The presentation ended with a review on Turkey’s future foreign policy which has cornerstones such as, the restoration of diplomatic relations and Turkey’s soft power, the establishment of multipolar regional order, and the protection of territorial integrity, to mention a few.

Professor Dr Murat Yeşiltaş handed out a clear assessment of Turkey’s political stance on both the domestic and international dimensions which gave the students a clear insight on Turkey’s foreign policy.