Turkey’s growing involvement with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) underscores President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s broader ambitions, which many analysts see as an attempt to revive the vision of a neo-Ottoman empire with himself at the helm. While Turkey is often portrayed as a bridge between East and West, Erdogan has repeatedly aligned himself with Islamist causes, once even declaring that “Turkey has nothing that contradicts” the Taliban’s beliefs. Critics argue that his foreign policy should have long ago disqualified Turkey from NATO, warning that Ankara increasingly resembles “a new Iran” in its pursuit of regional dominance. For Israel in particular, Erdogan’s influence in Syria and his growing ties with radical actors represent a mounting threat.

At the recent SCO summit in Tianjin, Erdogan’s presence highlighted Turkey’s unique role as the only NATO member holding dialogue partner status with the bloc. Although framed as a balancing act between Brussels, Washington, Beijing, and Moscow, Turkey’s deeper aim is to strengthen its hand in Central Asia, leveraging cultural and linguistic ties with states like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan through the Organization of Turkic States. Far from a neutral broker, Erdogan’s maneuvering within Eurasia points to a calculated strategy to expand Turkey’s influence across the Muslim world, positioning himself as a central figure in a shifting global order that increasingly pits Western alliances against rising Eastern power blocs.

SOURCE: Jihad Watch