Geopolitics
Exploring Turkish Strategy in East Africa
: Building bridges or expansionism?
January 27, 2020
Eren Ersozoglu
The “Africa Action Plan”, initiated Turkey’s intention to revive Turkey’s relations with Africa in 1998. A combination of the Istanbul Earthquake 1999, the economic crisis in 2000-2001, and failure to implement operational rather than theoretical and symbolic steps hindered any substantial progress. The Justice Development Party (AKP), which came to power in 2002, brought this intent closer to reality: In 2005, the AKP’s “Open to Africa Policy as introduced, in the same year the government…