Turkey’s New Strategic Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Somalia and Sudan

Hagi Mohamoud, Mohamed Omar (2023) Turkey’s New Strategic Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Somalia and Sudan. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This thesis presents a detailed perspective of SSA relations with Turkey. It seeks to understand the elements that influence SSA nations' acceptance of Turkey's relationship in great detail. Initially, Turkey-SSA relations were viewed as unidirectional. The existing literature focused on Turkey's motives, interests, and foreign policy choices. SSA countries have been perceived as passive targets that solely accept relations for the sake of foreign aid. While acknowledging that SSA are impoverished nations seeking foreign aid, in this study, I explore various factors that influence SSA nations' acceptance of Turkey's relations. The first of which is historical and cultural ties. Religion and Turkey's anti-colonial history have the potential to be perceived as legitimising force and have acted as one of the soft-power pillars supporting SSA acceptance of Turkey. Moreover, SSA nations are autonomous agencies with their own foreign policy agendas other than shared history and culture. Their individual reasons for developing and maintaining a relationship vary due to differing political, security, social and economic contexts. This research employed a structured, focused comparison. The instrument utilised to collect the data important to this study was semi-structured interviews meant to assess relevant information. And, as one cannot draw definite conclusions from a single example, the study adopted multiple case study method to achieve more robust results. Somalia and Sudan were chosen as the two most prominent examples of the phenomenon under examination. Somalia and Sudan were chosen because they are the two SSA countries with whom Turkey has formed the most extensive partnerships in recent years, yet their reasons, motivations and benefits of the relationship differ. The former established its ties with Turkey reasons related Somalia's national sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity while assisting it in reestablishing its economy, political stability, and robust national army. Sudan's relationship with Turkey is personal rather than national or strategic in character due to the country’s one-man-show leadership style. Discussing SSA's political, economic, and security benefits as well as their shared historical and cultural affinities, the thesis claims that the relationship between Turkey and SSA is likely to continue for two primary reasons. Initially, both Turkey and SSA are mutually benefiting from the relationship. Second, because Somalia and Sudan lack viable alternatives to Turkish backing, it is probable that the relationship will continue. On the other hand, the thesis identified prospective impediments to the partnership, particularly the disadvantages of SSA's poor political institutions and internal challenges.