A decade of opening. Turkey's new international role in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America

Resum

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been central for the contemporary Turkish history due to the its novel domestic identity grounded on the moderate Islamism, and an assertive, autonomous foreign policy, beyond the Western axis. For more than a decade, Turkey developed an active agenda as an emerging middle power, thus opening new spaces and increasing its presence in global political economy forums such as G-20. Until recently, Ankara tried to generate a non-turbulent regional environment to boost its political, economic and cultural relations with the Middle East, the Caucasus and the Balkans. At the same time, Turkey started developing particular strategies for new regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. These spaces were chosen mainly to expand global influence and presence, and pursuit market diversification through the creation of official representations, high-rank visits, and commercial initiatives. This paper attempts to bring some arguments about the sources of Ankara’s diplomatic opening toward these regions in the age of the emerging middle powers, while, at the same time, comparing the similarities and differences of the opening’s process and outcomes in both regional spaces.