Explaining the Effect of Neo-Ottomanism on Turkish-Saudi Relations from 2011-2019 Emphasis on Qatar

Document Type : Original Article from Result of Thesis

Authors

1 PhD student, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Humanities, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor at International Relations, Department of Communication and Social Sciences, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

As two strong players in the Middle East, Turkey and Saudi Arabia greatly influence the regional equations. In 2002, the Justice and Development Party's rise to power in Turkey profoundly changed the nation’s foreign policy. Ahmet Davutoğlu's ideas are known as “Neo-Ottomanism”. The 2011 Arab uprisings changed relations between the two countries from cooperation (since the Justice and Development Party's rise to power) to competition and conflict, with Turkey and Saudi Arabia adopting different and opposing policies towards Qatar. The main research question is, how has Neo-Ottomanism affected the regional relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia (emphasis on Qatar)? The main research objective is explaining how neo-Ottomanism affects the regional relationship between Turkey and Saudi Arabia (emphasis on Qatar). This descriptive-analytical study concludes that due to Qatar's support for Iran in the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council in 2017, Turkey and Saudi Arabia's conflict of interests on account of the Arab Spring and the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist discourse led to the Turkey-Qatar coalition.

Highlights

Introduction

As two strong players in the Middle East, Turkey and Saudi Arabia greatly influence regional equations alongside Qatar. In 2002, the Justice and Development Party's rise to power in Turkey profoundly changed the nation’s foreign policy. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu proposed the “strategic depth” and “policy of zero problems with neighbors” theories collectively known as “neo-Ottomanism” in Turkish foreign policy. Before the Arab Spring, relations between Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia were improving. However, the 2011 Arab Spring fundamentally changed those relations, with each nation showing different and opposing reactions to these developments and the Syrian Civil War. In the years following the Arab Spring, this led to confrontation and tension between Turkey and Saudi Arabia and brought Qatar and Turkey closer. After Qatar's independent policy and Doha's support for Iran in the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain (Saudi Arabia Quadripartite) put Doha under comprehensive economic and political embargo on June 5, 2017. Turkey-Saudi Arabia-Qatar relations can be analyzed and explained based on norms, values, ​​and the historical identity rooted in the Ottoman Empire. Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann proposed “Constructivism", with Went, Kratochvíl, and Onov as its main thinkers. Values ​​and identity express subjective meanings and norms, norms produce identity, identities determine interests, and interests influence the decision-making of policymakers. Actions or reactions to others is based on their meaning to the agent. Governments react based on the subjective meanings of language and perceptions originating from their identity, building a reality in the interaction and being built in their interactions with reality, thus transforming their identity. In constructivism, the state identity is created with value-based references to the nation’s history and future. The main research question is, how has Neo-Ottomanism affected the regional relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia (emphasis on Qatar)? The main research objective is explaining how neo-Ottomanism affects the regional relationship between Turkey and Saudi Arabia (emphasis on Qatar).

 

Methodology

This study followed a descriptive-analytical methodology with library research data collection.

 

Findings

Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar's foreign policy has varied based on the circumstances governing their mutual relations. On account of returning to Ottoman history and restoring the glory of Ottoman heritage, Neo-Ottomanism has greatly impacted the developments and quality of Turkey’s relations with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Since they were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, the event's developments and historical period determines the level and nature of the effect on their relations. Although trilateral relations were good and developing before the Arab Spring, the popular uprisings in Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 and their reaction to these changes soured their relations. With the neo-Ottomanism strategy, Turkey has sought to lead the region and establish itself as an active country in the region, North Africa, and the world. Turkey and Qatar’s ideological alignment with and support for the Muslim Brotherhood and its leaders has pitted them against Saudi Arabia, which supports Wahhabism and promotes Salafism. Turkey and Saudi Arabia's conflict of interests on account of Turkey's neo-Ottomanism, the Arab Spring, and the three nation's interactions vis-à-vis the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist discourse led to the Turkish-Qatari alliance due to Qatar's support for Iran in the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council in 2017. The Middle East and North Africa is an important and common geopolitical area for regional powers and influences the region and beyond. Despite their shared and overlapping interests, the actors also have regional conflicts and differences. The Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa and the Syrian Civil War in the Middle East have been clear examples of regional powers, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, showing and exercising force. Hence, driven by the neo-Ottomanism strategy, Turkey seeks to promote the Muslim Brotherhood’s geopolitical sphere whereas Saudi Arabia promotes and spreads Salafism and its geopolitical sphere. Since Qatar's policy is also aligned with Turkey, especially in terms of support for the Muslim Brotherhood and affiliated Islamic movements, both countries have policies opposing those of Saudi Arabia.

 

Conclusion

Turkey-Saudi Arabia-Qatar relations were developing until the Arab Spring, which fundamentally changed their foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa. Due to its self-perceived religious, ideological, and geopolitical status, Saudi Arabia claims to be the leader of the regional countries and the Muslim world. Given its history and its self-perceived identity, Turkey contemplates a return to its days of Ottoman glory and aspires to lead Islamic countries as a model of a modern Muslim country. Following the Arab Spring, Turkey supported the Muslim Brotherhood, and after the embargo on Qatar by the Arab Quadripartite, established close relations with Qatar as its regional ally by sending food, establishing a military base, and providing financial support. Historically, Qatar has enjoyed good relations with Turkey. The divisions between certain Persian Gulf states, including the political and ideological differences between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and their competition for regional influence, have caused a crisis in the Persian Gulf's political situation and worsened the internal relations of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council members, resurrecting and exacerbating old differences. After the Arab Spring, Turkey and Saudi Arabia’s conflict of interests was rooted in their opposing views due to their contrary ideological interpretations, bringing Turkey and Qatar into a coalition. Given their closer views, Turkey sought to promote and spread the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology, and Saudi Arabia has been trying to promote Salafism given its ideology based on Salafism and Wahhabism.

Keywords

Main Subjects

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