BY BERIL DEDEOGLU
STAR- Those who believe that once there's a new foreign minister, that country's foreign policy will also change might see the appointment of Ahmet Davutoglu as an exception. But foreign policy is an area whose framework is drawn by the legislative and judicial branches and international law and whose highlights are shaped by the executive branch. The latest change was the appointment of someone as foreign minister who has been drawing the government's foreign policy outlines for some time. This policy can be summarized as the multilateral openings of Turkey, where the general orientation is towards the European Union. This multilateralism neither consists of only strategic relations, nor is it based only on intergovernmental relations. Davutoglu has done his work in line with the foreign policy that the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party wants. What's more, he could have seized the opportunity to implement and test his scholarly theories during his work with the government.
In Turkey's Middle East policies, the groundwork has been laid thanks to Turkey's dialogue not only with governments, but also with non-governmental players. It seems the role played by Davutoglu in the establishment of these semiofficial relations led to his current post. We hope that whoever continues this role is well trained, because foreign ministers can't really be involved in such unofficial relations.
Turkey's policies on Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Pakistan have been seen as helping to promote peace in the Middle East for the last couple of years. Furthermore, the push to normalize relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan's efforts to create a rational atmosphere to solve its problems with this country, and the inability to achieve this in spite of Russia have turned Turkey into an important player in Caucasus stability as well. Turkey might have been rescued from being a mere bridge between East and West to instead become a center.
Davutoglu also sees Turkey as the center. But it's unknown what this will mean for our EU membership bid, because if Turkey becomes a regional power center, the EU might be in a better position to propose different forms of relations, rather than membership.
This stance goes along with the policy of praising Turkey, but also excluding it, and Davutoglu will face a basic test in dealing with the EU. If Turkey's bid is to be re-emphasized, he will have a lot to present to the EU to demonstrate that Turkey's eastern openings can also be used to the Union's advantage. When the government shows a stronger will for membership, Turkey's foreign policy hand will be better than in past years.
Based on his policy history, Davutoglu can be expected to be more open with the public on foreign policy issues and to seek more opinions from various sectors of society. I wish him all success.