Turkey has become one of the most active middle powers navigating the erosion of the post-Cold War order. Positioned between a divided West and increasingly assertive Russia and China, Ankara seeks to turn its geographic position and diplomatic agility into leverage. While maintaining institutional ties to NATO and the EU, Turkey is cultivating pragmatic relations with revisionist powers and deepening its engagement with developing and emerging economies, positioning itself as both connector and powerbroker across Eurasia, the Middle East and Africa.
Turkey’s trajectory embodies both the opportunities and contradictions of middle power activism in a fragmenting global order. The challenge ahead is preserving economic and security diversification without eroding the Western anchor that remains central to its stability and global relevance. This Policy Brief outlines how the EU and the US can strengthen cooperation with Turkey through renewed economic integration, joint energy and defence initiatives, and pragmatic, confidence-building diplomacy, to ensure it remains anchored in the Western order while retaining its regional agency.
