Turkey’s Mediation and Friends of Mediation Initiative

Turkey Policy Brief Series (IPLI – TEPAV) 6th edition, 2012, 7 p.                      Français

by Bülent Aras *

This brief critically examines a new area of activism in Turkey’s foreign policy agenda: Turkey’s rise as a mediator in regional and international crises zones. It contextualizes Turkey’s reliance on a multitude of actors to support its mediation initiatives, most notably its vibrant civil society and NGOs, as a successful case of total performance, a principle forming Turkey’s new foreign policy doctrine. The brief then outlines the broad frameworks and characteristics of Turkey’s approach to mediation, as laid out by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The brief takes a closer look at the case of Turkey’s involvement in the attempt to seek resolution in the Afghanistan confl ict and it illustrates a good example of Turkey’s new style in mediation. The brief concludes with a discussion of the Friends of Mediation Initiative, launched under the UN framework through a joint Turkish-Finnish initiative.

* Bülent Aras is the chairman of the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s Strategic Research Center and serves as the President of the Diplomacy Academy.

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