Turkey’s ambitions have imperial echoes
Facing the challenge of a domestic economic crisis, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes that successful military interventions in the surrounding region will foster nationalist solidarity
President Erdogan, always a tough talker, is now acting tough. He has despatched troops and military hardware to northern Iraq, Syria and Libya, as the Ankara government asserts what it regards as its legitimate rights in the broad Eastern Mediterranean. For too long, he argues, neighbouring states have ridden roughshod over Turkey’s interests. Now he is saying enough is enough. “The actors that are planning to violate our rights and interests should be ready to pay the price we already have been paying,” he told an audience in Ankara in July. Turkey’s campaigns against Kurdish separatists in the east of the country and their bases in northern Iraq, and its involvement in the war in Syria, a
![](/images/white-fade.png)
Also in this section
26 July 2024
Oil majors play it safe amid unfavourable terms in latest oil and gas licensing bid rounds allowing Chinese low-ball moves
25 July 2024
Despite huge efforts by India’s government to accelerate crude production, India’s dependency shows no sign of easing
24 July 2024
Diesel and jet fuel supplies face a timebomb in just four years, and even gasoline may not be immune
23 July 2024
Rosneft’s Arctic megaproject is happening despite sanctions, a lack of foreign investment and OPEC+ restrictions. But it will take a long time for its colossal potential to be realised