Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
Op-ed: After its failure to win a Security Council seat, Turkey must draw lessons.

Op-ed: After its failure to win a Security Council seat, Turkey must draw lessons.

17 October 2014

In this op-ed for commonspace.eu Dennis Sammut discusses why support for Turkey at the UN General Assembly collapsed, and the options ahead for Turkish diplomacy.

Turkey has lost its bid to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Voting to choose five non-permanent members of the Council for the next two years took place on Thursday at the UN General Assembly in New York under a complex system that saw Turkey fighting it out with Spain and New Zealand for one of the two seats allocated to the group called "Western European and others". All 193 member states get to vote. New Zealand got elected outright in the first round. After an inconclusive second round, Spain got elected in the third round with 132 votes against 60 for Turkey. It is this huge gap which will worry Turkish diplomacy most. Since Turkish diplomats were confidant of success in their bid, something clearly went wrong.

Turkey had announced its intention to stand for the Security Council several years ago and had systematically lobbied for this. The Turkish candidature was endorsed by the fifty-seven members of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) at the 39th session of the Council of Ministers held in Djibouti in November 2012. Turkey lobbied extensively with African countries, where Turkish diplomacy has been very active in recent years. It always assumed it had the support of the Turkic republics of Central Asia. The result of the vote therefore was not only a disappointment for Turkey, but a surprise to other diplomatic observers too.

It is clear that the OIC endorsement was all but meaningless. Recent years have seen a rift between Turkey and Egypt, with Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries (except Qatar) backing the Egyptians. Turkey's influence within the OIC, which peaked about five years ago, has long since waned.

Turkey's relations with its immediate neighbours also remain problematic: Turkey has backed regime change in Syria, alienating that segment of international opinion that still supports the Bashar al Assad government (including Iran, and to a certain extent, Russia). Its relations with Israel remain strained. Problems with Cyprus, with Armenia and with the Kurds remain unresolved.

For Turkey it was unfortunate that it was New Zealand that got elected outright, and not Spain.  In a head to head vote, Spain could count from the outset on the support of the 28 member states of the European Union, and of most of the Latin American countries. Given the collapse of the OIC support there was no similar core group backing Turkey.

Indeed reports from New York indicate that some OIC countries, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia lobbied intensively, especially amongst African countries, to block the Turkish bid. It is here where most likely support for Turkey evaporated fastest.

A non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council is largely a prestige position and brings little tangible benefits. But as Turkey seeks to upgrade itself from a regional to a global power the rebuff will be a considerable disappointment. It must draw lessons from it.

The first problem is structural. Turkish diplomacy has come a long way in the last decade. The arrogance that characterised Turkish diplomats in the 1980s and 1990s has long since made way to a more professional and more able younger group of cadres, but some streaks of the old practices remain. Turkey's new Foreign Minister must complete the process of modernisation that his predecessor had started.

More importantly however is Turkish foreign policy strategy. It is all well and good for a country to want to pursue an independent foreign policy, but in the end diplomacy is about building friendships and alliances, and Turkey may have alienated old friends without replacing them with new ones. Turkey needs to address the many unresolved issues with its neighbours.

By coincidence, the UN vote took place on the same day that Turkey launched a charm offensive aimed at re-connecting with public opinion in Europe. This is long overdue. The vote at the UN has exposed the limitations of the alternatives to Europe that Turkish diplomacy has been experimenting with in recent years. It should be a wake-up call, and should lead to Turkey re-discovering its European vocation.             


Dennis Sammut is a researcher and analyst based at Oxford University. (dennis.sammut@spc.ox.ac.uk)

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged
Trending

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

9 June 2021
Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Bonn Dialogue Meeting calls for the theme "Climate Change, Peace and Security" to be included in the agenda of COP29
Trending

Bonn Dialogue Meeting calls for the theme "Climate Change, Peace and Security" to be included in the agenda of COP29

6 May 2024
A dialogue meeting on the topic: “Climate Change Peace and Security – COP 29 and beyond” was held at the Bonn University Club in Bonn, Germany, on Friday, 3 May 2024. Representatives of various state-parties to the Climate Convention and of the UN Climate Secretariat, joined participants from around 30 academic institutions, think-tanks and civil society organisations to review the work done on this topic at COP28 in Dubai in December and chart a way forward for ensuring the continuation of the process at the COP29 meeting in Baku in November. At the opening session, the meeting was addressed by HE Hana al Hashemi, the United Arab Emirates COP28 Chief negotiator, HE Nigar Appadurai, the UN High Level Champion for COP29 in Azerbaijan, and Mr Markus Hicken, Director for Energy Foreign Policy, Climate and Security at the German Federal Foreign Office. Also speaking at the opening session was Ms Maria Paloma Noriega Jalil, representing the UN Climate Secretariat. Their followed an intensive one day of discussions on the current state of the COP process, and the on-going debate of the nexus Climate Change, Peace and Security within the COP process. The meeting was addressed by world class experts from leading think tanks and academic institutions, including Chatham House, the German Council on Foreign Relations, ADELPHI, the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, Heidelberg University, The Hertie School in Berlin, amongst others. The meeting positively assessed the steps taken in COP28 in Dubai in December, including the inclusion of climate change, peace and security as a theme of the meeting, the holding for the first time of a day on peace in the deliberations, and the “COP28 Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace” . It was felt that it was important that this momentum will not be lost, and similar actions are also included as part of the COP29 meeting in Baku in November. Whilst it was recognised that the nexus Climate Change Peace and Security was now widely recognised internationally, inserting this in the COP process remained an issue under discussion. During the meeting three aspects of the Climate Change, Peace and Security agenda were highlighted, namely water scarcity; food insecurity; and landmine contamination and environmental degradation resulting from conflict. Participants called on the State Parties to the Climate Convention meeting in the context of COP 29 to ensure proper discussion and action on these themes that affect millions of people and thousands of communities across the world. In his concluding remarks at the end of the dialogue meeting, HE Ambassador Elshad Iskanderov, advisor to the COP 29 presidency, said that Azerbaijan was positive to the idea of having Climate Change Peace and Security as a theme at COP29. Ambassador Iskanderov reminded that the decision to hold COP29 in Baku was taken unanimously, and was an unprecedented confidence-building measure in the context of the South Caucasus.  Azerbaijan wanted to build on what had already been achieved in Dubai. He said that these decisions did not depend on Azerbaijan alone since COP was a multilateral process where the 193 state parties had the final say. Ambassador Iskanderov underlined the readiness of the Azerbaijani COP29 presidency to continue the dialogue on this issue with academia, think tanks and civil society as the preparations for COP 29 progress. He highlighted the fact that the discussion need to focus not only on the potential that climate change will fuel more conflict and insecurity, but also on the impact of conflicts on climate change and environmental degradation Concluding the Bonn Dialogue Meeting, Dr Dennis Sammut, Director of LINKS Europe Foundation, who together with Candid Foundation and ReStart Initiaive hosted the Bonn event, said that a lot of work needs to be done between now and November, and particularly the dialogue with the COP Troika countries, the UN Climate Secretariat and interested state parties needs to be continued and intensified. As a concrete step, LINKS Europe will set up an ad hoc working group with other interested non-state actors, to ensure that the conversation continues, and tangible results are achieved.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Bonn Dialogue Meeting calls for the theme "Climate Change, Peace and Security" to be included in the agenda of COP29
Trending

Bonn Dialogue Meeting calls for the theme "Climate Change, Peace and Security" to be included in the agenda of COP29

6 May 2024
A dialogue meeting on the topic: “Climate Change Peace and Security – COP 29 and beyond” was held at the Bonn University Club in Bonn, Germany, on Friday, 3 May 2024. Representatives of various state-parties to the Climate Convention and of the UN Climate Secretariat, joined participants from around 30 academic institutions, think-tanks and civil society organisations to review the work done on this topic at COP28 in Dubai in December and chart a way forward for ensuring the continuation of the process at the COP29 meeting in Baku in November. At the opening session, the meeting was addressed by HE Hana al Hashemi, the United Arab Emirates COP28 Chief negotiator, HE Nigar Appadurai, the UN High Level Champion for COP29 in Azerbaijan, and Mr Markus Hicken, Director for Energy Foreign Policy, Climate and Security at the German Federal Foreign Office. Also speaking at the opening session was Ms Maria Paloma Noriega Jalil, representing the UN Climate Secretariat. Their followed an intensive one day of discussions on the current state of the COP process, and the on-going debate of the nexus Climate Change, Peace and Security within the COP process. The meeting was addressed by world class experts from leading think tanks and academic institutions, including Chatham House, the German Council on Foreign Relations, ADELPHI, the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, Heidelberg University, The Hertie School in Berlin, amongst others. The meeting positively assessed the steps taken in COP28 in Dubai in December, including the inclusion of climate change, peace and security as a theme of the meeting, the holding for the first time of a day on peace in the deliberations, and the “COP28 Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace” . It was felt that it was important that this momentum will not be lost, and similar actions are also included as part of the COP29 meeting in Baku in November. Whilst it was recognised that the nexus Climate Change Peace and Security was now widely recognised internationally, inserting this in the COP process remained an issue under discussion. During the meeting three aspects of the Climate Change, Peace and Security agenda were highlighted, namely water scarcity; food insecurity; and landmine contamination and environmental degradation resulting from conflict. Participants called on the State Parties to the Climate Convention meeting in the context of COP 29 to ensure proper discussion and action on these themes that affect millions of people and thousands of communities across the world. In his concluding remarks at the end of the dialogue meeting, HE Ambassador Elshad Iskanderov, advisor to the COP 29 presidency, said that Azerbaijan was positive to the idea of having Climate Change Peace and Security as a theme at COP29. Ambassador Iskanderov reminded that the decision to hold COP29 in Baku was taken unanimously, and was an unprecedented confidence-building measure in the context of the South Caucasus.  Azerbaijan wanted to build on what had already been achieved in Dubai. He said that these decisions did not depend on Azerbaijan alone since COP was a multilateral process where the 193 state parties had the final say. Ambassador Iskanderov underlined the readiness of the Azerbaijani COP29 presidency to continue the dialogue on this issue with academia, think tanks and civil society as the preparations for COP 29 progress. He highlighted the fact that the discussion need to focus not only on the potential that climate change will fuel more conflict and insecurity, but also on the impact of conflicts on climate change and environmental degradation Concluding the Bonn Dialogue Meeting, Dr Dennis Sammut, Director of LINKS Europe Foundation, who together with Candid Foundation and ReStart Initiaive hosted the Bonn event, said that a lot of work needs to be done between now and November, and particularly the dialogue with the COP Troika countries, the UN Climate Secretariat and interested state parties needs to be continued and intensified. As a concrete step, LINKS Europe will set up an ad hoc working group with other interested non-state actors, to ensure that the conversation continues, and tangible results are achieved.