Rise of New Centres of Power in Eurasia: Implications for Turkish Foreign Policy

Abstract

The emergence of new centres of power in Eurasia has entailed a re-reading of Zbigniew Brzezinski's book which drew an analogy between the Eurasian supercontinent and a grand chessboard. Following the global financial crisis of the last few years, countries like China, Russia and India have started to project greater global political and economic influence. Eventually, Eurasia has become a geopolitical symbol signifying a multipolar world order unlike fifteen years ago when Brzezinski wrote his book in a world dominated by the US superpower. The changes in the geopolitical meaning of Eurasia have also been very important for Turkey for a number of reasons. First, it is a country that is strategically located at the meeting point of Europe and Asia. Second, its economy has grown at an impressive rate throughout the 2000s turning it into a rising Eurasian power. Third, its multi-dimensional foreign policy approach in the last decade has enabled it to develop closer relations with the Eurasian states.

Geopolitical Dynamics of the Persian Gulf and Central Asia in the US Global Policy

“…A country that can dominate Central Asia will be able to change the position of the United States in the Persian Gulf (Lawson, 2004). Yet, it is clear that the United States is seeking to undermine Russia's position in Central Asia and elsewhere in Eurasia, an area which Brzezinski presumptuously depicted as "the chief geopolitical prize for America" (Ersen, 2014). By the way, counter-terrorism, which led Washington to pursue two broad war strategies; war against global terrorism (in Afghanistan in 2001) and the fight against weapons of mass destruction (WMD).…”