Amid regional instability, Turkey focuses on domestic agenda
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party are engrossed in the transition to a presidential system, but unrelenting developments in the Middle East will leave Ankara facing major regional problems.
Having won the presidential election, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) were engrossed in the transition to a presidential system imbued with executive powers. They have major hurdles to overcome before this can happen, starting with finding an individual to replace Erdogan as the AKP head without causing a debilitating power struggle in the party.
There is also a pressing need to prepare for the next general elections, planned for 2015, which will be crucial for the AKP. The party must emerge from the elections stronger than today, so it can amend the constitution and establish the presidential system Erdogan wants.
Given the timetable and the hurdles to overcome, the “Erdogan administration” will have little time in the coming months to focus on regional developments in a proactive manner.
The situation in the Middle East, however, especially in Iraq and Syria, continues to unfold with an unrelenting momentum. This has forced Ankara into reactive mode, revealing Turkey's limited scope when it comes to altering the course of events that threaten its security and economic and social stability.
