East is East, West is West – and Turkey desires to forge its own BRICS path between the 2 countries.

Turkey tends to go its own way in international affairs.

Take the United Nations vote on 14 December 2022when the body's General Assembly passed a resolution in favour of a New International Economic Order. Some 123 member states – mostly countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America – voted in favour; only 50 voted against. Turkey was the only abstention – symbolic of the foreign policy of a rustic that bridges the gap between Europe and Asia, East and West, North and South.

Or consider the most recent addition to the NATO military alliance: Turkey withheld his support It took almost two years for Sweden to affix, much to the chagrin of the opposite members.

Nevertheless, it was a remarkable moment when Turkey officially announced in September 2024 that it Applying for BRICS Plus membership Group – the primary time that a NATO member country has applied for membership in a club that was formed in 2006 out of dissatisfaction with Western-dominated global governance mechanisms and has since expanded beyond its original membership of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Given that NATO is the bulwark of the Western alliance and the BRICS are seen as a key challenger to the established order, this isn’t any small matter – especially in a 12 months when Russia holds the BRICS presidency, which is currently at war with Ukraine, and at a time when NATO members are rushing to assist Ukraine in any way they will.

Ankara’s move, which the US has now decided tosuggests that Turkey is increasingly reluctant to pursue its foreign policy goals primarily through Western institutions.

Between two worlds?

Turkey’s interest in joining BRICS isn’t any coincidence. already in 2018After being invited to the annual BRICS summit, Turkey toyed with the concept of ​​joining. In retrospect, it was only a matter of time before it became a full member.

Straddling the European and Asian continents, Turkey has long been interested in the European Union, the world’s largest single market and a key Western institution, and has repeated attempts to affix the body through the 21-year rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But the EU was persistent that it is just not prepared to just accept it as a full member.

Trade agreements? Yes. Military cooperation through NATO? No problem. But full membership with voting rights within the EU Commission, the EU Council and the EU Parliament? Not yet.

With a population of over 85 millionIf Turkey were to affix, it might be the most important country within the EU, surpassing Germany. with around 84 million – and would thus play a key role within the management and leadership of this organization.

But amid a wave of Arab and African Migration to Europe – and a corresponding increase anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment – The acceptance of a non-white nation with a Muslim majority in Europe seems more unlikely than ever.

As shown within the different reactions to the war in Ukraine and the war in GazaMany Europeans define the continent as “white and Christian.“ They see Europe as under siege from the remaining of a world that it considers uncivilized.

This idea was reinforced by the Rise of the intense right within the recent European elections and is even reflected within the rhetoric of some high-ranking politicians in Brussels. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, for instance, said in a Speech 2022 to young European diplomats: “Europe is a garden. We have created a garden where everything works,” but “most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could invade the garden.” It was a comment for which he later apologized.

Looking beyond the West

Turkey not only feels sidelined by the EU, but in addition feels hampered by the Western-dominated world order. The Erdogan government accuses the West, and the US specifically, of slowing down the expansion of the defense sector and industry basically and of not allowing the country to take the place it deserves as an emerging middle power in world politics.

For example, Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system in 2019 led to a protracted dispute with the USAwhich prevented Turkey from acquiring F-35 fighter jets. And Washington only reluctantly gave Turkey the green light Purchase of 40 F-16 fighter jets This transaction met with considerable resistance within the US Senate.

In addition to the differences with Western organizations of assorted kinds, Turkey also has complaints concerning the existing world order. A specific annoyance for Erdogan is the Composition of the United Nations Security Council and its five everlasting members with veto power – the USA, Great Britain, France, China and Russia – this example doesn’t, in his view, reflect the geopolitical realities of the twenty first century.

Turkey has actually come to the conclusion that it is going to remain loyal to NATO and can proceed to conduct much of its foreign trade with Europe, where its most important export markets are. But within the wake of what some have called the Asian centuryFrom a Turkish perspective, the world is moving in a unique direction.

Joining the BRICS would thus open up recent opportunities each economically and diplomatically. Indeed, such a move would place Turkey in a key position as a diplomatic bridge between East and West and North and South, with a foot in each of those camps while strengthening its position in all of them.

“Turkey can become a strong, prosperous, respected and efficient country if it simultaneously improves its relations with the East and the West,” Erdogan said. said in early September“Any other method will not benefit Turkey but harm it.”

The development of the BRICS

BRICS has come a great distance since its inception in 2006, when many Commentators within the Western media identified the organization as a unit that talks big but doesn't get much done.

It now has its own bank, the New Development Bankbased in Shanghai, with an initial capital allocation of US$50 billion, and whose performance in its first decade of existence has been well rated by credit agencies and the press. BRICS also has a Quota reserve agreement to supply Member States with protection from global liquidity pressures.

From the unique 4 members – Brazil, Russia, India and China – to which South Africa joined in 2010, the group now comprises nine members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Member since 2024while Saudi Arabia is considering accepting the invitation prolonged to it on the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August 2023. The body, now called “BRICS Plus”, represents 46% of the world population29% of world GDP, 43% of oil production and 25% of world exports.

The economies of the BRICS countries clearly complement those of Turkey. Half of Turkey's natural gas imports come from Russia, and China Belt and Road Initiative goals to attach the world's fastest growing region, East Asia, with the world's largest single market, Europe, with Turkey serving as a key distribution hub for the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

A bigger platform

Finally, and maybe most significantly, the BRICS group would offer Turkey with a bigger diplomatic platform from which to recommend its demands and exert its influence. This should come as no surprise for a rustic that, like many other countries in the worldwide South, believes it has been mistreated by the West and needs to reform the present order.

Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani argued that the Asian century began on March 13, 2015 – the day on which a Conservative government in Great Britain, contrary to Washington's express wishes, applied to affix the Beijing-based Asian Investment and Infrastructure Bank.

Without going too far, one could argue that the applying of the primary NATO member, on this case Turkey, for membership within the BRICS countries marked the start of a brand new chapter within the transition to a less Western world.