Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed Davutoğlu the new foreign minister on May 1, 2009. A Middle East expert, Davutoğlu had previously served as Erdoğan's chief foreign affairs advisor; he was regarded as the primary actor behind Turkey's foreign policy even before his appointment as minister. Davutoğlu has authored several books and editorials on international relations and Turkey's foreign policy, and his appointment in the May 1 Cabinet reshuffle had significant coverage by both Turkish and Western media. When he took up his post as foreign minister, he noted that he wanted Turkey to play a bigger role in the Middle East and the Balkans, although Turkey's relations with the West continue to be its primary foreign policy focus. In the past 10 days, Davutoğlu has visited 10 countries, even going to Egypt twice in one week. The nations he traveled to span both Europe and the Middle East, indicative of the multidimensional foreign policy he is pursuing. It is noteworthy that the foreign minister's intensive diplomatic work did not take a break for the summer.
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Professor Mehmet Hasgüler evaluated Davutoğlu's performance in an interview with Sunday's Zaman, noting firstly that Davutoğlu has been the architect of Turkey's foreign policy in recent years. Drawing similarities between Davutoğlu and famous US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who was also an academic, Hasgüler said this is the first time that an academic has become foreign minister in Turkey. “Indeed, Ahmet Davutoğlu has transformed Turkish foreign policy and is pursuing ‘strategic depth' in foreign policy,” he contended.
Since the Turkish Republic's 1923 establishment, the nation's foreign policy has been poor at best, involving a multitude of problems with its neighbors and resulting in bitter relations that are only now beginning to be improved. For decades, Turkey essentially ignored the existence of the Arab nations, asserting that developing relations with the Arabs could hamper Turkey's own development. The single-dimensional foreign policy that made Turkey a loyal member of NATO throughout the Cold War diminished its foreign policy choices. “Ahmet Davutoğlu is the first foreign minister that untangled the Turkish foreign policy knot, which has existed since the establishment of the republic. He has also figured out the key points in diplomacy to deal with its neighbors,” Hasgüler says.
The fresh breath in Turkish foreign policy represented by Davutoğlu's extensive diplomatic traffic is expected to bear fruit. According to the foreign minister, among Turkey's primary foreign policy goals is to institute peace in its neighborhood that will spill over into other regions. The advent of peace, the foreign minister claims in many of his speeches, may only be realized through stability. Hasgüler argues that Turkey has had problems with Iran, Syria, Armenia and Iraq for long years, saying: “Had there been such a cadre in the Foreign Ministry [over the years], these problems would all have been solved 12-13 years ago. According to Davutoğlu, if there is a problem, Turkey has to bring it to the regional or even international level to address it.” All these countries need Turkey, he added. “Without Turkey's intervention, these problems may not be addressed. Greece does not need Turkey, and that is the reason why the Cyprus issue is really a big deal to solve,” he said.
Hasgüler said Turkey lacked policies toward the Middle East and the Muslim world. “We could not even become a candidate for United Nations Security Council membership for 47 years. Because of Cyprus, Turkey had a very bad reputation in international relations. Ahmet Davutoğlu, with all his successful diplomatic efforts, cleared them all out,” he said.
Also speaking to Sunday's Zaman, Bilkent University professor of international relations Mustafa Kibaroğlu said that Davutoğlu's famous neighborhood policy of zero problems with neighbors seems to include zero problems between neighbors. “There are certain problems that dominate the conjecture, and new opportunities emerge in international affairs. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu seeks to utilize these opportunities,” Kibaroğlu said.
Particularly due to the Cyprus issue, Turkey has long been criticized and seen as a problematic country in the international arena. Kibaroğlu says that Davutoğlu has done away with these stereotypes: “For years, Turkey was regarded as a country avoiding international norms and treaties and possessed of little understanding of effective diplomacy. Nevertheless, Turkey needs to make use of the situation with tangible models. Ahmet Davutoğlu also clearly understands the fraud that the other side may use, and he can easily tackle this.”
The prominent expert claimed that Turkey has a successful foreign policy under Davutoğlu and that this needs to be bolstered. “There are professional diplomats in the Foreign Ministry, too,” he added.
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