By Peter Marko Tase
As history records contemporary leaders for posterity,
tragically, many are misunderstood and thus recorded with a lack of
accuracy, comprehension and candor. One of the most eminently
relevant yet misconstrued leaders of the Western world is Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Despite the frequently inaccurate
and seemingly prejudicial rhetoric associated with him, he is, in
reality, a reformer and has persistently sought to enshrine
democratic and humanitarian values.
Throughout his rather pragmatic near-three-decade tenure
(predominating the nation’s political spectrum), Ankara has become
a key player in promoting governance reforms in international
organizations, grown into a large donor of international aid,
heavily contributed financial resources toward global
infrastructure and invested in programs destined to strengthen
output growth and agricultural productivity. After January 20th,
2025, the Trump – Erdoğan alliance will revive the economic and
geopolitical partnership of both nations. Regardless of North
America’s mainstream media’s reporting, international audiences are
well aware of Turkiye’s enormous leap forward in its geopolitical
role and admirable economic growth, the waves of which are felt
from Eurasia to Vietnam to Ecuador.
Mr. Erdoğan’s robust and collaborative foreign policy even
beyond the realm of Europe and the Middle East paved the way for
Turkiye to secure two bilateral agreements with Vietnam (Prevention
of Double Taxation; Civil Aviation and Maritime Cooperation) in
2014-2015.
Further, Turkiye is increasingly present in Latin America;
investments in Ecuadorean port infrastructure reaching over US $750
million. President Erdoğan has revitalized Ankara’s strategic ties
with the Western Hemisphere; the only president to have conducted
two official visits to South America and the Caribbean two years in
a row (2015 & 2016). Impressively, Turkiye also opened its embassy
in Paraguay on November 20th, 2018 and the President of Turkiye
visited Asuncion on Sunday, December 2nd, 2018. On the first
anniversary of the opening of the Turkish Embassy, Ankara exported
over USD 40 million in various products to Asuncion.
With Washington’s general approach to leadership, Erdoğan
possesses more commonalities than differences in terms of his
statecraft, enabling him to lead a consolidated American-style
democracy, advocating for economic growth and the harnessing of a
free and open society.
The Turkish public demonstrated their unwavering support for
President Erdoğan, actively participating in the constitutional
referendum of 2017; a historic accomplishment that brings Ankara’s
governmental organization closer to that of the American governing
model, complete with expanded responsibilities of the executive
branch.
Evocative of a decidedly Hamiltonian model, Turkiye’s president
vested more authority, causing key leftist politicians and the
media to cry dictatorship and authoritarianism when, in reality,
the referendum brought the presidency of Turkiye more in line with
other democracies. Of note, it was a democratic move that made it
more difficult for him – not easier – to be reelected on June 24,
2018.
Noticeably, in 2017-2021, U.S. President Donald Trump invested a
good deal of clout and effort to repair the frayed bilateral
relations and strategic partnership that has existed with Turkiye
for decades. A genuine testimony to such a remarkable friendship is
the White House reception held for President Erdoğan in 2017; only
four months after Trump entered the Oval Office.
Mr. Erdoğan has also proven Turkiye’s salient ability to muster
the nation’s armed forces in equipment, cutting-edge technology,
indispensable human and signals intelligence support to other NATO
member countries. Further, he has exerted a unique political talent
to enhance global security and contain a spillover of Syria’s civil
war into South-east Europe and beyond. Safeguarding territorial
sovereignty of Turkiye has been a principal pillar in his apex of
national defense strategy, complimented with his support towards
Azerbaijan’s territorial sovereignty and economic zenith.
Falsely attacked for extorting the European Union (EU) by
requesting financial assistance related to the ongoing refugee
crisis in the Middle East, Turkiye, regardless, endeavored to
administer the continental crisis and played a critical role by
mobilizing its financial and human resources to alleviate the
suffering of millions from war torn Syria; a monumental undertaking
implemented thanks to the sole commitment of Turkiye conspicuously
with little assistance from the EU let alone moral encouragement
from international media.
Across many developed countries, there is a strong sentiment
against immigration, globalized economy, free trade and unhampered
cross border movement of goods and services; while current
practices of information flow are clashing with calls in favor of
protecting intellectual property. Unlike any other country in
Europe, Turkiye has the geopolitical leverage, financial backbone,
industrial might, consolidated democracy and its leadership’s
resilience to ensure a propitious outcome for the country’s
development.
Let’s not overlook that Turkiye, under Mr. Erdoğan, sealed more
bilateral trade agreements than the World Trade Organization’s
multilateral trade negotiations, since its creation in 1995.
Under Mr. Erdoğan leadership, Turkiye has encouraged a growing
system for trade in goods and services; allowed a rapid spread of
innovation in engineering; and embraced free trade partnerships
with numerous countries. Such measures have improved the living
standards in Turkiye, allowing millions to escape poverty. Thanks
to this bold leadership, Erdoğan has already entered the history of
modern Turkiye as the only prime minister to have won three
consecutive elections with ever-growing popularity in a nation of
tremendous international importance.
Mr. Erdoğan, his nation and people live in an increasingly
complex and dangerous neighborhood. Perhaps, Turkiye should be cut
some slack, lest a lesser leader delivers less of what the world
order demands?
Peter Marko Tase is an author, strategist and analyst on the
geopolitics and geostrategy of Eurasia, the Middle East, the former
Soviet Union and South America. He is the author of numerous white
papers and opinion articles centered on geopolitical and
geostrategic realities of these areas as they pertain to the U.S.
He is the Founder of the Paraguay Economic Forum (Milwaukee,
Wisconsin).
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