Gürol Baba

This latest special edition of Insight Turkey meticulously explores the evolving dynamics of Türkiye’s engagement with East Asia under the ambit of the Asia Anew Initiative. This edition is distinguished by a series of foundational articles that provide a thorough overview of the initiative, alongside in-depth analyses of Türkiye’s bilateral relationships with key Asian nations. We trust that the comprehensive discussions and diverse perspectives presented in this issue will offer our readers valuable insights and deepen their understanding of the intricate geopolitical landscape.

This study aims to illustrate that multi-vectorial approaches in foreign policy could not only be practical but also productive for middle powers. With this aim, the study conceptualizes Turkish foreign policy in Asia with multi-vectorism, a foreign policy behavioral pattern that has been mainly utilized for post-Soviet countries’ concurrent interactions with the West (the EU, the U.S.) and the non-West (Russia). The study, firstly, argues that Asian international relations require a more composite re-definition of multi-vectorism, since in Asia, due to the intra-regional fragmentations and diversions, there are more than the conventional two vectors, the West and the non-West. By considering this argument the study applies multi-vectorism to Türkiye’s foreign policy in Asia by comparing the practicability of different interaction patterns, e.g., multilateralism, minilateralism, and bilateralism. The study, secondly, argues that Türkiye’s multi-vectorial foreign policy in Asia is particularly successful in its bilateral relations and less so in its multilateral and minilateral interactions.

Asian values discourse has focused on the Confucian cultural peculiarities of East Asia as the motorforce behind the East Asian “miracle”, which is characterised as significant economic boom, increased welfare, and more fair distribution of income in East/Southeast Asia. These peculiarities have both pragmatic and psychological/intellectual dimensions, which, seemingly, operate independently but actually complement each other. Psychologically, Asian values claim an East Asian intellectual and cultural exclusiveness from the “West” but, pragmatically, they actually encourage commercial relations with non-Asians. Australia’s contemporary relations with East Asia are a clear example of this. A trade-oriented and pragmatic engagement with the region has relegated politico-strategic relations to the background. This research argues that to move beyond trade and increase the influence of a non-Asian power, such as Australia in East Asia, the psychological dimension cannot be ignored.