Turkey has become the first NATO member to request to join the Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping-led BRICS economic bloc.
Turkey’s request to join the BRICS economic bloc aims to create alliances outside the ones it already has in the West.
Speaking in Istanbul over the weekend, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “Turkey can become a strong, prosperous, prestigious, and effective country if it improves its relations with the East and the West simultaneously. Any method other than this will not benefit Turkey but will harm it.”
President Erdogan hopes this move will put Turkey in a better position globally. According to Bloomberg, Erdogan’s administration believes the most developed nations are losing their previously unrivaled dominance over the world’s geopolitical realm.
“We do not have to choose between the European Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization [SCO] as some people claim,” he said. “On the contrary, we have to develop our relations with both these and other organizations on a win-win basis.”
Sinan Ülgen, head of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM), further emphasized Turkey’s refrain from relying solely on its Western allies.
“This is not the strategy, by Ankara, to replace the West, but it’s a strategy to strengthen relations with non-Western powers at a time when the US hegemony is waning,” Ülgen said.
Speaking to Newsweek, Ülgen said this move could have come from frustrations with the West and the European Union. Turkey has long sought to join the EU, but its bid has been stalled.
“One driver of this is an aspiration for enhanced strategic autonomy,” Ülgen said. “The second driver is these accumulated frustrations with the West and the European Union.”
What is BRICS?
The BRICS economic bloc was created to bring together the world’s most important developing nations. By unifying these nations, the intention was to rival the political and economic power possessed by the West.
Created in 2006, it was initially the BRIC economic bloc, as it was named after Brazil, Russia, India, and China. However, they changed the name to BRICS when South Africa joined the bloc four years later in 2010.
Since then, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were invited to join BRICS starting January 1, 2024. While BRICS admitted Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, Saudi Arabia has not joined.
The BRICS group comprises nearly half the world’s population and about 30 percent of the world’s global economy.
What this move means for Turkey on the world stage
Considering the BRICS economic bloc is spearheaded by Russia and China, Turkey’s bid to join the bloc will likely be seen as a move away from the West. Despite Turkey’s intentions not to have this disrupt its relations with Western allies, the West will likely not appreciate the move.
This also comes amid Turkey’s frustrations with the West and the EU. Moreover, Ankara’s relations with Russia have strengthened significantly in recent years, further adding to the notion that this can be seen as a push against the West.
