Ankara goes back to square one

A popular theme for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Justice and Development Party (AKP) circles generally is to criticize previous governments for their timidity and passivity in foreign policy and to compliment themselves for making Turkey an active player in the world.

They have also convinced their grass roots supporters about this. AKP supporters unquestioningly parrot what they hear from above. The reality, however, is different and shows that Turkey is not exactly at the center of diplomatic activity in the major crises, which is currently keeping the international community occupied.

Turkey is nevertheless physically at the center of these crises. To the north it has the situation in Ukraine from which it cannot dissociate itself from, and to its East, in Iraq and Syria, it faces a growing threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In both cases it is seen to be timid and largely passive.

Turkey’s geostrategic place on the map is being used differently today by the AKP compared to a few years ago. In the past, Erdoğan and Davutoğlu used this location to argue that a rapidly developing Turkey would be the most proactive country in helping the region overcome its problems and assist in shaping its future.

Today the same location has pushed the AKP government from its ambition of being a proactive regional player. Instead it has become a reactive player that is trying to ward off negative fallout from events beyond its borders, which it has no control over.

The argument AKP circles use in explaining this fact also has a familiar ring to it. It is said that Turkey’s sensitive place on the map and the risks that this poses for the country make it necessary...