President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s shadow continues to loom large over Turkey’s foreign policy, restricting the ability of the government to provide the flexibility needed to meet the challenges of major international developments of vital concern to Ankara.

The question now is whether the results of the general elections on Nov. 1 will lift this shadow or entrench it even more. There are those who believe these elections could be the beginning of the end for the Erdogan era as we know it, but this remains an open question.

Erdogan’s uncompromising positions — based on his Islamist outlook — with regard to major international crises on or near Turkey’s borders have resulted in alienation for Ankara, depriving it of its ability to fully exercise the potential it has as a major regional player.

A case in point is his often repeated remark that “the world is larger than five,” which is a swipe at the pre-eminent position of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Erdogan actually believed during the heady days, when his international reputation among the “downtrodden” members of the General Assembly was high, that he could spearhead a reform process to change this situation.