Türkiye’s Africa Opening: Somalia

Özuygun, Mert Efe (2025) Türkiye’s Africa Opening: Somalia. HONVÉDSÉGI SZEMLE, 153 (SI2). pp. 111-128. ISSN 2060-1506 (nyomtatott); 2732-3226 (elektronikus)

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Abstract

This article analyses Türkiye’s multidimensional engagement in Somalia through Barry Buzan’s five-sector security model. It argues that Türkiye has positioned itself as a hybrid state-builder operating outside traditional Western and Gulf frameworks. The February 2024 Defence and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement institutionalised Türkiye’s role as both a security guarantor and economic partner amid growing instability in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa. Relying on open-source data, policy documents, and strategic commentary, the study highlights Türkiye’s emphasis on bilateralism, religious affinity, and infrastructure-led development. While this approach enables rapid and visible influence-building, it also raises concerns over elite-centric governance, economic dependency, and regional polarization. For NATO and EU members – such as Hungary, which contributes to EUTM-Somalia – Türkiye’s model offers insights into non-Western security partnerships in fragile states. The Somali case illustrates how emerging powers use integrated, sectoral strategies to expand influence, with long-term outcomes shaped by inclusivity, transparency, and local ownership.

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