172
İqtisadi və Siyasi Elmlər Jurnalı.
№ 4 (9) 2017
ALIMUSA IBRAHIMOV
PhD, Baku State University
e-mail: ialimusa@mail.ru
UDC 327; 339.9
TURKEY AND RUSSIA: ASYMMETRIC
INTERDEPENDENCE IN A TURBULENT REGION
SUMMARY
The article examines Turkish-Russian relations with an emphasis on
the increasing role of "new powers" in a changing global order. Turkey, as
an old member of the Western bloc and a candidate for membership in the
European Union (EU), wants to play a more active role as an independent
power, as at the regional and global levels. The peculiarity of Turkish-
Russian relations is due to the fact that both countries have an imperial
heritage and perceive themselves as decisive regional and global actors,
which sometimes goes beyond their real possibilities. This element of
discrepancy between expectations and ability clearly distinguishes both
Turkey and Russia from many other powers. At a time when both countries
are facing a relative distance from the EU and the US as a result of their
more aggressive foreign policy steps, their respective geopolitical views on
a higher international status complement their partnership, despite sharp
differences on issues such as Syria.
Failures in Turkey's cooperation with the United States, strong anti-
Israeli rhetoric and "flirting" with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
are of concern to its Western allies. Nevertheless, given Turkey's
longstanding diplomatic, economic and military ties with the West,
although Turkey has been pursuing a more independent foreign policy in
recent years, especially in the face of growing disappointment with the EU
membership process, Turkey does not intend to completely separate from
the West and give priority to relations with its troubled neighbors.
Keywords: Turkey, Russia, interdependence, strategic partnership,
conflict
Global politics is undergoing a period of significant transformation, as
US hegemony is challenged by the growth of new powers. The unipolar
structure of the international system, created immediately after the end of
173
İqtisadi və Siyasi Elmlər Jurnalı.
№ 4 (9) 2017
the Cold War, gradually receded when a multipolar order was formed. The
expensive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the devastating economic
crisis in 2008 accelerated the shift in the balance of power from the
Western powers, and the BRICS, led by China, takes an increasingly
important role in the emerging global order. The growing spread of power
increasingly means that the new powers have more and more opportunities
for pursuing a more ambitious and aggressive foreign policy. In this
context, there is also a challenge to the emergence outside of the BRICS
States that are still seeking to establish themselves as active regional and
global actors. Countries such as Turkey, Mexico and Indonesia belong to
the latter category. In this context, the focus is on the interaction between
Russia and Turkey, the two key countries located on the border of Europe,
which have created a dynamic economic partnership, especially during the
last decade, and a model of growing interdependence, which contrasts
sharply with the highly conflicting relations between the two countries
over the several centuries.
Russia and Turkey have become influential actors in Eurasia, as well
as in the Middle East. Over the past decade, both Russia under Putin and
Turkey under Erdogan enjoyed relative political stability and economic
prosperity, which strengthened the degree of interdependence between the
two countries compared to the 1990s when Russia was experiencing
difficulties in its transition to market capitalism, and Turkey faced a
number of economic and political crises. The growing economic power not
only facilitated the intensification of bilateral ties, but also contributed to
the desire of both countries to play more active roles in the international
arena. They also took advantage of the current structure of the international
system, which provides a more favorable environment for such powers as
Turkey and Russia, in order to play a more active role in regional affairs.
A systematic analysis of Russian-Turkish relations in a changing
international order allows us to make the following generalizations.
Growing trade and economic ties can contribute to the development of a
significant partnership, conditioned by common economic interests,
between states with divergent geopolitical views and political regimes.
Russia, together with China, is an authoritarian version of the BRICS,
while Turkey, despite its democratic flaws, is increasingly concerned about
the growth of authoritarianism and the erosion of the autonomy of state
institutions at a later stage of the AKP era, closer to the democratic BRICS
option presented by India, Brazil and South Africa. Differences in the
geopolitical worldview were reflected in the approaches
of the two states to