Abstract
Although sharing some degree of middle power identification, big disparities exist among MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, and Australia) countries with respect to their political and economic systems, domestic priorities and problems, and their regional context, which make it difficult to talk about a common MIKTA identity/role. This study draws on social constructivism to problematize and analyze Turkey’s changing middle power role among MIKTA countries through their debates at the United Nations (UN). To this aim, the chapter will conduct a detailed and comparative discourse analysis of Turkey’s and the other MIKTA countries’ statements at the opening sessions of the UN General Assembly from 2001 to 2017 with respect to their social claims about themselves, including the way they define their (1) roles in global governance, (2) attitude toward international order, and (3) the nexus between their global and regional roles. By doing so, the chapter will theoretically question and empirically analyze whether there exists any meaningful evidence demonstrating Turkey’s adoption of a middle power role that could create the opportunity for converging interests among these countries.
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- 1.
“MIKTA as a force for Good”, Daily Sabah, April 24, 2014 (available at: https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/2014/04/25/mikta-as-a-force-for-good
- 2.
Ibid.
- 3.
Robertson argues that one should have a pragmatic definition of middle power. Thus, for Robertson, middle powers might be defined as follows: “[I]n the context of global governance in the 2010s, a middle power ought to be considered as a state with an interest in and capacity (material resources, diplomatic influence, creativity, etc.) to work proactively in concert with similar states to contribute to the development and strengthening of institutions for the governance of the global commons”. See Robertson, p. 13.
- 4.
Gareth Evans, “Middle Power Diplomacy”, Chile Pacific Foundation, Santiago, 29 June 2011 (available at http://www.gevans.org/speeches/speech441.html)
- 5.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=34767&Kw1=turkey&Kw2=iran&Kw3=nuclear (accessed 8 July 2014).
- 6.
2016 Humanitarian Assistance Report (available at http://devinit.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Global-Humanitarian-Assistance-Report-2016.pdf)
- 7.
Ibid.
- 8.
See various statements before the UN General Assembly between 2000 and 2017.
- 9.
Statement by President Abdullah Gul at UN General Assembly Opening Session, 2005 (available at http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/516/22/PDF/N0551622.pdf?OpenElement) (last visited 10 August 2017).
- 10.
President Erdogan’s Speech before the UN Security Council, at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48825#.VNCVcZX9k5s (last visited 17 February 2015).
- 11.
See various statements before the UN General Assembly between 2000 and 2017.
- 12.
Speech by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, 10 July 2006, “Should Australia think Big or Small in Foreign Policy?” (available at: https://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/2006/060710_bigorsmall.html)
- 13.
Speech by Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, “Australia’s Foreign Policy Interests in the Middle East” (available at: https://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2011/kr_sp_110222.aspx?ministerid=2).
- 14.
Speech by Senator the Hon Brett Mason on behalf of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop (available at http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/foreign-policy-for-a-top-20-nation/).
- 15.
See especially Statements of South Korean officials in UN General Assembly in 2016, 2014, 2013, 2010, and 2000.
- 16.
See various Statements by Indonesian Officials in the UN General Assembly between 2000 and 2017.
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Gök, G.O., Karadeniz, R.F. (2018). Analyzing “T” in MIKTA: Turkey’s Changing Middle Power Role in the United Nations. In: Parlar Dal, E. (eds) Middle Powers in Global Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72365-5_7
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