The pandemic continues to amplify the crisis in West Asia, making it hard for governments to cope with it individually. In the absence of a coordinated effort at the regional level, the road to economic recovery will be long and uneven.
The political divisions and economic challenges facing the country have complicated the government’s response to the pandemic, putting the population at risk and threatening to undermine the popularity of President Erdogan.
In many ways Turkey is reviving its historic relations with Africa with an eye to strengthen economic ties and gain strategic depth, but for some this is a reminder of the bitter past and represents neo-Ottomanism.
The rise of the Adalet ve Kalk?nma Partisi (AKP), its domestic and foreign policy successes and its early response to the Arab Spring made it popular in the Arab world. Many inside Turkey, the US and the Arab world saw the AKP as an Islamist party with a difference, that could be a ‘model’ for the Arab countries struggling with a democratic deficit.
Turkey's resolve to dislodge the Democratic Union Party (PYD) from Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria adjacent to the Turkish border, will be seriously tested by the US and Russian opposition to military action against the Kurds.
The nostalgia among a section of the AKP to recreate the Ottoman past through economic and geopolitical integration has been the driving force behind Turkey’s recent assertive postures in regional matters including the Qatar crisis.
What to make of the combination of Trump’s missile strikes in Syria, changes of mind about China and Russia, warnings to North Korea, signals about scaling up military presence in Afghanistan, and outreach to Turkey?
The post-referendum changes in Turkey will have far reaching implications not only for the form of government but also for the long-term future of the republic and adversely affect democratic consolidation.
