The Turkish President has never made a secret of the fact that Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn’t care much for the “West”. Now, however, he could take a step that heralds the actual break with the West: Erdogan wants to join the China-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The organization sees itself as the antipode to the West – especially in terms of security policy. It is therefore in competition with NATO, of which Turkey is also a member. It also represents 40 percent of the world’s population – and its members are mainly anti-Western states such as China, Russia, India and Pakistan.
The accession of a NATO member to a competing alliance would be a security policy novelty – and from Turkey’s point of view the step is a strategic mistake. Turkey cannot be a member of two organizations that see each other as competitors.
In addition, the country remains politically and economically dependent on the West. NATO still has numerous troops and commando units stationed in the country. Turkish firms still do most of their trading with companies from the EU and the US.
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Nevertheless, Turkey’s application to join the SCO also poses a major challenge for the Western security alliance: The West is facing global competition – and this at a time when it is already weakened.
>> Read here: Turkey wants to join the Shanghai Group
The Afghanistan mission, which lasted two decades, cost billions and brought nothing. The same applies to the Iraq war and the conflicts in North Africa. Brexit sent a signal to the world that even for a wealthy nation, membership in Western organizations might not necessarily be beneficial. And even if the West or NATO are not to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the supposedly powerful West was unable to prevent this far-reaching invasion.
A look at the Turkish press shows that Erdogan now considers it opportune to express his interest in alternative systems. Not only the pro-government media can take something good from the move. Even the anti-government newspaper Cumhuriyet wrote in an editorial that the move “would suit the country’s national security interests.”
It is not yet clear whether Turkey will ultimately join the eastern alliance. The fact is, however, that the Western-dominated peace order is facing competition. Western countries have to think about how they can still be attractive to third countries – including Turkey.
More: How Putin could help the Turkish President