Benevolence or Selfishness: Understanding the Increasing Role of Turkish NGOs and Civil Society in Africa
Turkey has changed its policy in Africa since 2005 and developed a more active role to cement its political, economic and social relations with African countries. For instance, while Turkey had only 12 embassies around the continent in 2002, it now has 35. Its economic relations with Africa have also increased significantly over the past decade. Although its total trade was 2 billion dollars in 2002, it boomed to 22 billion dollars in 2013. Turkish non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations have also boosted their humanitarian activities in Africa. They have established hospitals, mosques, orphanages, schools and colleges, opened water wells and provided free cataract surgeries. This article will examine why Turkish NGOs and civil society organisations have increased their humanitarian assistance in Africa since 2002. The research will also uncover the main motivations to the increasing role of Turkish NGOs and civil society organisations on the continent of Africa.
The Making of the New Turkish Foreign and Security Policy towards Africa
This article examines the reasons and dynamics behind the new Turkish foreign and security policy towards Africa. Turkey became actively involved in African politics after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002. For instance, it has opened 19 new embassies throughout the continent since 2005 and strengthened its institutional relations with African regional and sub-regional organisations such as the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This article will seek to answer the question as to why Turkey has changed its foreign and security policy towards Africa since 2002. The main reason is argued to be that the parameters of Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP) have undergone a significant change with the AKP. Importantly, the ruling party aims to develop a multidimensional foreign policy with different regions and continents. In particular, TFP has started to work with various institutions, mechanisms and agencies in Africa in order to play a more active role in African politics. This article will analyse the way TFP has changed in Africa. Africa Insight Vol 43(1) – June 2013
Analysis: The Agenda 2007 Proposals: Evolution or Revolution?
On 10 February 2004 the Commission published its proposal for the financial perspective 2007-2013. A week later it adopted the third report on economic and social cohesion. These two documents form the basis of the so-called ‘Agenda 2007 reforms’. They will be the greatest challenge for the enlarged EU after the intergovernmental conference, since they will determine the financial basis for EU policy-making until the middle of the next decade. The Agenda 2007 proposals certainly hint at courageous reforms, because they place a previously unheard-of emphasis on performance and quality. Under the proposals, structural operations should generate value for money, and the funds should focus on projects which generate added value at a European level. Overall the Commission’s proposals point in the right direction, because they balance, on the one hand, solidarity for the new Member States and weak regions in the old Member States with, on the other hand, investments in future tasks. Moreover, they constitute a paradigm shift. For the first time, the Common Agricultural Policy will not be the dominant expenditure category. Now it is up to the Member States to examine the proposals politically and find a compromise between sometimes very divergent interests. It is to be hoped that, during the debate over expenditure limits and division of funds, national interests do not outweigh European interests.