Turkey’s Asia Anew initiative: the limits of middle power activism?

Turkey under the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi or AKP) is often labelled an emerging middle power, with a growing role and influence in world affairs. The Middle East and North Africa have been particularly important in showcasing Turkey’s rising diplomatic and economic clout during the twenty-first century. This article evaluates the extent of Turkey’s middle power activism in the Asia-Pacific region under the country’s recently launched Asia Anew (Yeniden Asya) initiative. Based on an examination of official documents, state-level contacts and trade statistics, the study argues that the Asia Anew initiative failed to bring substantial results in stretching Turkey’s influence to East and Southeast Asia during its four years of implementation (2019–2023). Turkey’s Asia Anew initiative was plagued by several setbacks, including the foreign ministry’s ambiguous policymaking, as well as Turkey’s limited economic leverage and soft power appeal in the Asia-Pacific region. Having remained a rhetorical tool, Ankara’s own Asia pivot demonstrates the limitations of Turkey’s middle power activism in the twenty-first century.