Is Türkiye becoming a BRICS partner a sign of break from the West?

Since Türkiye is geographically and culturally a part of both the east and the west, it can change its foreign policy positioning according to various problems.

In 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the BRICS Johannesburg Summit, South Africa and said that Türkiye might consider joining the group. This was the first time a NATO member state had attended a BRICS summit. This year, BRICS officially announced the addition of 13 new countries as partner countries, including Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Türkiye, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Thus, Türkiye not only participated in the BRICS summit but also became the first NATO country to BRICS partner. Türkiye had previously made its first defection from NATO by becoming the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) dialogue partner.

Türkiye’s disagreements with the West were instrumental in its pivot to Asia

Türkiye is a country with unique characteristics both geopolitically and in terms of foreign policy. Since Türkiye is geographically and culturally a part of both the east and the west, it can change its foreign policy positioning according to various problems. For this reason, Türkiye has never pursued a fully dependent foreign policy with the West. In particular, whenever Türkiye’s relations with the West were in trouble, it tended to improve its relations with Asian countries. An example of this is the support of Bolshevik Russia during the Turkish War of Independence when it fought the Allied Powers and the friendship policy of the established republic with the Soviets. In the 1960s, Türkiye, which was facing problems with the West due to the Cyprus crisis and the Johnson letter, developed close relations with the Soviet Union and established heavy industrial facilities with Soviet aid. Similarly, the Bülent Ecevit government, reacting to the EU’s decision not to initiate Türkiye’s EU candidate membership process at the Luxembourg summit in 1997, pursued a policy of close relations with the Russian Federation and China.

Türkiye’s entry into the SCO as a dialogue partner marked the first rift within NATO. In 2016, it was brought to the agenda that Türkiye could become a member of the SCO due to the deterioration of its relations with the EU and the US, which deteriorated due to Türkiye’s aid to the PKK/PYD/FETÖ terrorist organizations, and the improvement of its relations with Russia. Upon President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statement that ‘SCO can be our alternative’, Türkiye became the chairman of the SCO Energy Club in 2017, despite not being a full member of the SCO. In the following period, the debate on Türkiye’s full membership to the SCO came to the agenda. On the other hand, Türkiye, contrary to NATO, did not take sides in the Ukraine War and made a different choice by not imposing economic sanctions on Russia.

Türkiye’s stance in favor of a fair and multipolar world

In President Erdoğan’s speech at BRICS summit, he once again emphasized that he is in search of a new order, saying “we act with the motto that a fairer world is possible and we attach importance to finding solutions”. The reason for this is “because the order established after the World War II cannot give what is expected of them”, he said, underlining the lack of solution of the UN, which was established by US post-WWII, in its attacks against Israel in Palestine and Lebanon.[1] Erdoğan also stated that he believes that BRICS makes unique contributions to the construction of a fairer global order. Considering the participation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the BRICS summit and the BRICS countries’ opposition to Israel, it seems that BRICS will establish a more effective mechanism.

The participation of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan from the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), which Türkiye sees as an important initiative in the multipolar world, in the BRICS summit is very important. The OTS and BRICS have developed a common point in strengthening Türkiye’s relations with the global south. Turkic states are now both part of the SCO and partner states of BRICS.

The bomb attack in Ankara is a message to Türkiye’s orientation towards BRICS

The timing of the terrorist organization PKK’s attack on the Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TUSAŞ/TAI) in Ankara was quite meaningful. Moreover, while Erdoğan was in Kazan, Russia for the BRICS summit, the choice of a location in Ankara’s Kahramankazan district shows that it was a planned organization rather than a coincidence. Considering that many terrorist attacks take place after a long planning process and monitoring, this possibility seems to be high. From this point of view, it seems that Türkiye is sending a message to BRICS and its developing relations with Russia through the PKK/PYD, which is a pawn of the US. Türkiye’s strikes against PKK/PYD targets in Iraq and Syria after the terrorist attack also shows where the main threat center is.

On the other hand, it is also thought-provoking that the attack took place before Erdogan’s meeting with Putin in Kazan, where he went for the BRICS summit. In his meeting with Putin, Erdoğan said that Türkiye is determined in its fight against PKK/YPG and all other terrorist organizations and that they are ready to cooperate with Russia in this regard. During the meeting, he underlined the need to strengthen cooperation mechanisms between the two countries in the field of counterterrorism.[2] Türkiye’s cooperation with Russia in northern Syria could help the PYD/PKK to gain territory in the region.

Türkiye‘s desire to take part in the new order outweighs its alliance with the West

We will see what Türkiye’s becoming a partner in BRICS will bring and what it will take away. Türkiye may face various terrorist attacks and sanctions from the EU and the US due to its orientation towards BRICS. Due to its geographical location and interests, Türkiye can neither break away from the West nor give up developing relations with the East in the new order. But Türkiye’s desire for a strong position in the new order outweighs that of the West. It is very important that Erdoğan pointed out in his speech that the functioning of the institutions of the West has collapsed. Türkiye openly states that the current global system is over and that a new system must be established. It is crowning its desire to be a part of this new system with its BRICS partnership.

The views contained in this article are the author’s alone and do not represent the views of Shanghai University.


[1] Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications, “BRICS makes unique contributions to the construction of a fairer global order”, https://www.iletisim.gov.tr/english/haberler/detay/brics-makes-unique-contributions-to-the-construction-of-a-fairer-global-order

[2] Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications, Erdoğan ile Putin’in Kazan görüşmesinde neler konuşuldu ve kabul edildi?, https://www.iletisim.gov.tr/turkce/dis_basinda_turkiye/detay/erdogan-ile-putinin-kazan-gorusmesinde-neler-konusuldu-ve-kabul-edildi

Necati Demircan
Necati Demircan
Necati Demircan is a PhD candidate in Global Studies and research assistant of Center for Turkish Studies at Shanghai University. He is editor of the Belt & Road Initiative Quarterly. His articles were published by the Aydınlık newspaper, China Daily, and Hankyoreh. His research interests mainly focus on Chinese and Turkish foreign policies