ABSTRACT
AKP’s neighbourhood policy in the Middle East is in tatters. The regional order that the AKP leadership once tried to establish by employing ‘soft’ power underpinned by a problem-solving approach, trade agreements and cultural exchanges, and public diplomacy has failed to come to fruition and Turkey is now at loggerheads with a number of regional actors. At the same time, the Middle East has become more anarchical and fragmented than before.
The questions that naturally arise are whether Turkey’s failure is because the dynamics that have developed in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring transcend Turkey’s foreign policy capacity or is it because of the underperformance of Turkish foreign policy?
This policy note argues that Turkey’s ‘soft’ power falls short in influencing developments on the ground against the backdrop of the new political landscape in the Middle East. Counter-intuitively, the suggestion is not for Turkey to consider the use of ‘hard’ power but to deepen and enhance its ‘soft’ power by addressing neglected aspects of its domestic politics.
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About MERI: The Middle East Research Institute (MERI) is internationally ranked as Iraq’s leading think tank and policy research institute. As an independent, non-profit, grant-funded organisation, MERI advances evidence-based policymaking, democratic governance, and sustainable development through research, policy analysis, dialogue, and public engagement. MERI’s research focuses on Iraq, the Levant and the wider Middle East, covering governance, state-building, foreign policy, regional security, post-conflict recovery, violent extremism, displacement, minority rights, women’s rights, civil society, Baghdad–Erbil relations, and broader geopolitical developments. Through its publications, policy dialogues, and the annual MERI Forum, MERI brings together policymakers, diplomats, academics, and civil society leaders to promote informed debate and practical policy solutions for the region’s most pressing challenges.