Turkey's Worst Era Under Erdogan

Ankara's interventions in neighboring countries have been detrimental to its relations with the Middle East. After years of rapprochement with its neighbors in the Middle East, Turkey seems to be losing the reputation it had gained before due to its foreign policy. Observers of the region have started to criticize the foreign policy of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who does not hide his expansionist dreams that remind the people of the Middle East of the notorious Ottoman Empire that dominated and exploited the region for centuries.

After decades of estrangement between Turkey and the Arabs, the situation changed again in 2002, after the victory of the Justice and Development Party, and Ankara adopted a new policy developed by Ahmet Davutoglu, with the aim of strengthening relations with its neighbours. But the Arab Spring made some Arab countries begin to doubt the feasibility of establishing solid relations with Turkey, as it showed a clear ambition of expansion and began to question the feasibility of having strong ties with Turkey, as it showed a clear expansionist aspiration. For example, it supported the Muslim Brothers in the Middle East and North Africa, which led to a confrontation with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

It should be recalled at this point that the clan headed by president Erdogan has been involved in corruption and nepotism scandals for almost two decades. One of the most notorious is that concerning his third daughter, Esra, who is married to an energy entrepreneur, Berat Albayrkar. In addition to being the president's son-in-law, he currently holds the position of finance minister. Previously, he was responsible for the Energy portfolio. During that period, Russia linked him to the purchase of oil from Daesh terrorists, who were stealing the liquid gold in Iraq and Syria to finance their activities. Other family members such as his father and brother have also been involved in the scandals. 

By now, Turkey’s economic situation is so dire that opposition politicians are warning that the official data cannot be taken seriously. The GDP figures, say those struggling to get a hearing, are inflated and, for instance, the numerator of the debt-to-GDP ratio does not include obligations to public-private partnership (PPP) black holes.

Erdogan's expansionist dreams have led the surrounding countries, which claimed to be his allies, to isolate him and leave him alone in the Mediterranean.