Washington is an interesting town. You never know who you may have lunch with on a day which seems quite ordinary. As part of my quest in following Turkish policy makers, today I found myself in a room with Ian O. Lesser from the German Marshall Fund and Semih Idiz who is a senior Turkish journalist and a well-respected expert in Turkish Foreign policy.
The meeting was about Turkish foreign policy and what to expect from Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, in case the AKP comes out as the sole winner in the upcoming Turkish elections. Just a month before the national elections, AKP has many convincing to do both domestically and internationally. According to Semih Idiz, this is also a good time to evaluate Turkey’s relations with the Western world and analyze how Davutoglu’s well-publicized ‘Zero Problem’ foreign policy is shaping the new Turkey under the AKP rule.
Zero Problems-Zero Solutions
“Peace at home, peace around the world” is one of the most famous quotes from Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkish republic. However, many would argue that Davutoglu’s foreign policy goals are modeled by Ataturk’s vision for Turkey’s role in the Middle East. What Davutoglu has proposed in recent years is to have zero problems within the region. I considered this policy a very optimistic one from the very beginning; however looking at the history of the region, my illusion of a ‘happily living together’ Middle East cannot last very long. Starting from the Ottomans, the Middle East has always had problems within the sub-regions, within the various ethnic groups and most importantly across the borders. The current unexpected Middle East turmoil, otherwise known as Arab Spring is a definite wake up call for policy makers, assuring them once again on the unpredictable politics of this conflict-ridden part of the world. How will it be possible then to maintain a policy which will promise a peaceful environment? It will not be realistic for AKP to preserve Davutoglu’s vision in such a region. In fact, with the recent events in Syria, Turkey may need to focus on its peace at home more than ever, let alone building promises based on internal politics of its unstable neighbors. According to Ian O. Lesser, who is one of the most treasured American experts on the Middle East, Turkey’s foreign policy priorities should shift from being a status quo to providing stability.
While the views of Washington’s leading experts mainly meet on an unknown future for Turkey’s foreign affairs, politicians in Ankara from AKP to opposition parties are on a party bus, travelling every corner of Anatolia for the support of people and their votes next month. Maybe after the elections AKP can answer Washington’s foreign policy questions.
