Weekly Geopolitical Report – Erdoğan’s Leadership and the Turkey-Greece Dispute: Part II (October 5, 2020)
by Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA | PDF
In Part I of this report last week, we took a deep look at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s perspectives, goals, power, initiatives, and constraints. We examined how his primary aims are to regain Islam’s place in global society, seek redress for the way Islam and Turkey have been treated by the West, and make Turkey an independent, respected, and dominant power in the Middle East. We also showed that Erdoğan has a solid domestic political base to carry out his plans. In Part II, we will discuss how the latest reflection of Erdoğan’s program is his effort to make Turkey a player in developing the newly discovered, rich natural gas fields of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Since that initiative could lead to a confrontation with other countries, we also explore the potential implications for investors.