TURKEY EXPANDS AFRICAN INFLUENCE WITH OUTSIDE HELP
Turkish and Somali officials attend a groundbreaking ceremony in Mogadishu.
A hospital in Uganda. A road in Somalia. Justice and Development Party (AK Party) voices tout huge increases in foreign aid as proof of political benevolence and economic prosperity.
“Turkey is no longer the hand that receives but the hand that gives, due to political and economic success under the AK Party’s rule,” Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said in a 2013 interview.
Breaking from a more local focus on the Balkan and former Ottoman regions, Turkey’s private sector, NGOs and government programs have turned to African nations. “Turkey’s influence on the continent has definitely increased in the past decade,” Robert Lloyd, professor of international relations at Pepperdine University, has said.
“This has been a result of a conscious policy decision by the Turkish government to expand political, economic and cultural ties,” Lloyd said. “The impact is seen in the increase in the number of embassies opening in African countries, a greater number of Turkish Airlines flights to the continent, rapidly growing trade volume and a number of diplomatic visits. The significance of this is that Turkey is seeking to diversify its international ties and Africa is receptive to the attention.”
Amid a sluggish economy and political flux, Ankara is looking south.
Politics as usual
Global humanitarian assistance fell by $2 billion in 2013, but Turkish aid spending soared more than any other nation, with a crisp $775 million increase according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Behind the talking points of certain development initiatives, however, the reported $2.5 billion in aid spending belies the extraordinary inflow of international aid, which more than covers the cost. From a business perspective, Turkey is far from running a deficit in terms of international aid — drawing a steep $3.2 billion in 2013.
Put another way, Ankara receives about $1 billion more in international aid than it gives.
Indeed, Turkey received more foreign aid in 2012 than Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt and Nigeria — and laughably more than similar-sized economies such as Switzerland and the Netherlands. It received more than the Philippines, Mali and Somalia combined. The same as Jordan and Syria combined. For scale, it received the same amount in 2012 as Haiti after the earthquake in 2010.
Only Afghanistan, Vietnam and Ethiopia received more aid in 2012 — amounting to just over $3 billion, according to the most recent numbers from the World Bank (WB).
Almost all of it was “Other ODA” (Official Development Assistance), with only a tiny sliver netted toward “Official Humanitarian Assistance” — the funds appropriated for natural disasters like the earthquake in 2011.
Like most world powers — including Brazil, which also receives large amounts of aid — Turkey’s aid policy is informed by how Europe, the US and Russia have used aid to meet political ends. The rise in foreign development aid under the AK Party is no different.
Alpaslan Özerdem, director of the Center for Peace and Reconciliation Studies at Coventry University, cited the domestic benefits of development abroad.
“When you face a difficult time in political affairs, the AK Party may decide that by increasing our assistance in Somalia and other places — that can be quite useful for its credentials domestically,” Özerdem said in February.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has been instrumental in expanding Ankara’s aid portfolio through humanitarian soft power initiatives. Reflecting Turkish interests in the region, he emphasizes aid to regions overlooked by other donors, such as Liberia and Somalia.
Donor countries’ expectations of Turkish foreign aid policy are hard to peg, but some — like the British Parliament’s International Development Committee, in a report on European Union aid — railed against sending funds to a “relatively rich” country such as Turkey, instead of impoverished nations.
Turkey remains the largest recipient of EU aid — drawing $2.8 billion in 2011.
From assistance to influence
Regardless of its origin, Turkish influence is evident from the tropics of Uganda to the famished capital of Mogadishu through its extensive network of business initiatives and NGOs. Cited as the “soft power giant of the Middle East,” Turkey’s role has of late reached beyond the former Ottoman territories and fellow-Turkic speaking nations to sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
“Turkish foreign and economic policies have emphasized not just bilateral relations with individual countries but have actively sought cooperation with multilateral organizations such as the African Union [AU],” Lloyd said. “Turkey has also cultivated a presence through Turkish [NGOs] in such diverse areas as business, development, education and humanitarian aid.”
The Fethullah Gülen-inspired Turkish charity organization Kimse Yok Mu recently installed a hospital near the source of the Nile River in Uganda. Roy Mwesigwa lives nearby and is the office administrator for Kibo Group International — a nonprofit focusing on creative development initiatives in East Africa.
“Turkey is a powerful country whose influence is slowly but steadily building in Africa and Uganda,” Mwesigwa said. “I will begin with the health facility being built in Uganda in my hometown of Jinja. This massive and impressive facility is located about one-half of a kilometer from my residence.
“It is an effort going on not with the lightning speed, publicity and pomp of the Chinese, but what you see draws attention,” he said.
In line with the aid policy of middle-power countries such as Germany, Sweden and Canada, Lloyd emphasized Turkey’s need to “spell out in greater detail its policies in Africa on such difficult issues as human rights and development.” Turkey’s “market niche” in Africa is strengthened by its role as a Muslim democracy with historical ties to the continent.
“Turkey is not likely to be involved in security issues in Africa, as the United States or France,” Lloyd said. “As just one example of ways that Turkey can partner with Africa, Turkish educational NGOs have emphasized not only religious studies but also academic subjects as well.”
Mwesigwa agreed — citing the educational endeavors of Turkish NGOs.
“I also know of a number of people whose children and relatives have benefited from what appears to be an extensive scholarship program where young Ugandans are flown to cities in Turkey for higher education and professional training,” Mwesigwa said. “Again, all these things happen without much publicity.”
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