Turkey’s involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa: an empirical analysis of multitrack approach

ABSTRACT

Since 2005 the Ankara government has increased its diplomatic engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Along with the improvement of political and economic relations, Turkey has carved out an interesting role in humanitarian assistance and development aid. Taking principles and norms from both, Turkey has elaborated its own way of development which lies between the DAC and non-DAC countries. A feature that makes Turkey’s approach toward SSA different from the other extra-regional powers is its unconventional multistakeholder implementation policy on the ground that attributes relevance to the non-state actors (NSAs). These, such as NGOs, trade and businesses associations, have pushed forward the country’s economic, cultural and political interests in SSA. Drawing critically on the informal diplomacy literature and on the studies of Turkey-Africa relations, this article aims to show that Turkish rapprochement toward SSA has made Turkey a new relevant player in the region. Further, it aims to contribute to the literature on the interaction between state and NSAs, providing an empirical analysis within North–South interactions.

KEYWORDS:

• Turkey
• multitrack diplomacy
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• non-state actors
• development

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the journal’s anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 DAC refers to the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

2 This article focuses on NSAs which are in principle autonomous from the structure of the state and operate both in the domestic and international field.

3 Interview with former Turkish diplomat, via Zoom, 23 August 2020.

4 Turkey has multiplied its diplomatic representations with the number of embassies increased from 12 (2009) to 42 (2019).

5 Interview with foreign policy advisor who served within the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Istanbul, 19 August 2020.

6 Interview with Afrika Vakfı (Africa Foundation) worker, via Zoom, 24 August 2020.

7 Interview with Turkish scholar on Africa and MENA region, via Zoom, 31 August 2020.

8 Interview with researcher on Turkey and Africa region, via email, 23 August 2020.

9 Interview with TRT analyst – Africa desk, via Zoom, 22 August 2020.

10 Interview with TRT analyst – Africa desk, via Zoom, 22 August 2020.

11 The multilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) accounted for 2% of Turkey’s total ODA in 2014, as opposed to 44% in 2004.

12 “Erdoğan: Türkiye’nin Afrika’da sömürgeci geçmişi olmadı.” Al Jazeera, June 1, 2016.

13 “Davutoğlu Says Civil Society Key in Development of LDCs.” Sunday Zaman, May 8, 2011. Accessed September 14, 2018. http://www.todayszaman.com/news-243200-Davutoğlu-says-civil-society-key-in-development-of-ldcs.html.

14 “Assessing Turkey’s Role in Somalia.” In Policy Briefing – Africa Briefing, No. 92, October 2012. Accessed August 12, 2017. http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/horn-of-africa/somalia/b092-assessing-turkeys-role-in-somalia.pdf.

15 The Twitter hashtags #TurkishAirlinesHelpSomalia was launched by a French social media celebrity Jerome Jarre.

16 Interview with Turkish scholar on Africa and MENA region, via Zoom, 31 August 2020.

17 Turkey’s trade volume grew threefold from $5.4 billion in 2003 to $19.5 billion in 2015. Turkey’s trade volume with SSA soared to $6.6 billion in 2015 from around $2.7 billion in 2005 (Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs). http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkey-africa-relations.en.mfa

18 See http://www.turkeyafricaforum.org/.

19 http://www.enr.com/toplists/2015_Top_250_International_Contractors1.

20 Interview with Turkish businessman, Istanbul, 20 August 2020.

21 The UN Monitoring Group for Somalia and Eritrea accused Favori LLC of paying senior members of the SFG a $1.8 million “Initial Premium Fee” to remove SKA from the airport.

22 “Turkish Firm Signs New Contract to Operate Somalia’s Port of Mogadishu.” Daily Sabah, October 12, 2020. Accessed November 20, 2020. https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/turkish-firm-signs-new-contract-to-operate-somalias-port-of-mogadishu?gallery_image=undefined#big.

23 Interview with Afrika Vakfı (Africa Foundation) worker, via Zoom, 24 August 2020.

24 Interview with Turkish scholar on Africa and MENA region, via Zoom, 31 August 2020.

25 Interview with a group of African students, via Zoom, 23 August 2020.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Federico Donelli

Federico Donelli is a postdoc research fellow in International Relations at the University of Genoa. His research fields have covered international politics and security studies of the Middle East region. Among his latest works “Crossing Roads: The Middle East's Security Engagement in the Horn of Africa” in Global Change, Peace & Security; “Asymmetric alliances and high polarity: evaluating regional security complexes in the Middle East and Horn of Africa” in Third World Quarterly. He has recently published the book Turkey in Africa. Turkey's Strategic Involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa (London-New York: IB Tauris).