During the first two decades of the twenty-first century, besides the structural factors namely geography, history, politics, international system and the world order, five conjunctural factors dominated Turkish foreign policy behaviour and conduct. These include the Strategic Depth (Stratejik Derinlik) doctrine with ‘zero-problem’ with neighbours embedded in it followed by the Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan) doctrine focused on enhancing Türkiye’s maritime presence in its immediate neighbourhood and the periphery. Thirdly, and arguably the most important, is the personality of Recep Tayyip Erdogan who as a dominating figure in contemporary Turkish politics has shaped not only the political discourse but foreign policy praxis. Erdogan’s personalised style of interventions has undoubtedly had a profound impact on Ankara’s interactions and engagements with the wider world. Finally, pan-Islamism and neo-Ottomanism are two important drivers in Turkish foreign policy and were visible notably in the Middle East and North Africa region and came into prominence in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings. In this context, it is pertinent to ask what are Turkish foreign policy ambitions and how do these impact India? Given that Ankara has expanded its presence, or at least is striving to expand it, in the geographically contiguous Southwest Asia region that connects India to the Middle East, the question how Indian foreign policy should view Türkiye becomes even more important. The bilateral challenges between India and Türkiye make it even more pertinent for Indian scholars and policymakers to take a deep and hard look at Türkiye’s foreign policy doctrines and praxis. This book is an attempt in that direction. It systematically analyses the structural and conjunctural factors in Turkish foreign policy and notes that Türkiye’s foreign policy is embedded in a glorified identification of the past, both Ottoman and Kemalist, and in its geographical location as a multi-regional actor. However, the foreign policy ambitions are limited by Türkiye’s economic performance and political sliding. From an Indian viewpoint, the book identifies Pakistan as a limiting factor so far as the bilateral relations are concerned and recommends that New Delhi should use economic leverage and diplomacy to de-hyphenate the Pakistan factor.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Md Muddassir Quamar’s commentary ‘A Ray of Hope for Saudi-Iran Thaw’ has been published in ‘Financial Express’ on 13 March 2023.
The commentary underlines the significance of the Saudi-Iran-China trilateral statement issued in Beijing on 10 March and analyses its geopolitical significance.
The strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the US withstood the test of time despite occasional challenges. Even as the US dependence on Gulf oil weaned, the partnership continued due to foreign policy convergences and the security nexus. The Arab Spring uprisings challenged the partnership leading to foreign policy divergences. While the US looked for reducing its regional commitments, the Kingdom diversified relations with emerging powers.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Md. Muddassir Quamar’s article, ‘Socio-Economic Change in Saudi Arabia and Opportunities for Strengthening Indo-Saudi Relations’, has been published by Financial Express on 23 November 2022.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Md Muddassir Quamar’s commentary on ‘China’s Growing Strategic Inroads in the Middle East and Challenges for India’, has been published by Raksha Anirveda on 23 November 2022.
The commentary underlines China's emergence as a strategic challenge for India and Indian interests in the MENA region considering China’s growing strategic foothold in the region. It argues, India needs to recalibrate its strategy in the MENA region to counter this emerging challenges effectively.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Md Muddassir Quamar’s chapter ‘India in the Gulf: Multialignment in the Shadow of Regional (In)security)’ has been published as part of the Book, ‘Asian Perceptions of Gulf Security’, edited by Li-Chen Sim and Jonathan Fulton, and published by Routledge, London.
The chapter discusses the significance of the Gulf region for India within the context of India's multialigned foreign policy and regional insecurity emanating from domestic, regional and systemic events.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Md. Muddassir Quamar’s co-authored book ‘Persian Gulf 2021-22: India's Relations with the Region’ has been published by Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Md. Muddassir Quamar’s commentary ‘Netanyahu's Challenge: Managing Contradictions at Home and Abroad’ has been published by ISDP, Sweden on 14 November 2022.
The commentary discusses Benjamin Netanyahu's yet another comeback to power in Israel and the challenges he might face in managing the coalition and relations with the US.
Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr Md Muddassir Quamar’s Op-ed on ‘India-Egypt Defence and Security Cooperation: Prospects and Challenges’ has been published by Raksha Anirveda on 3 November 2022.
India and Egypt are gradually moving towards greater political, economic and security engagements. Given the global and regional geopolitical environment and India’s position as an emerging power, there are greater prospects for strengthening defence and security cooperation between the two countries, says Dr Quamar.
