Turkey’s Abdullah Gul should run for the U.N. secretary-general

The last month has clearly demonstrated how far Turkish diplomacy has come. The New York Times recently reported that no country was as outspoken as Turkey in terms of projecting a new image during the opening of the 65th U.N. General Assembly. But the Times was not applauding. Contrasting Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his unavailability to meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres, the paper portrayed Turkey as indifferent to U.S. efforts to reach peace in the Middle East and tackle the growing nuclear threat posed by Iran. On the other hand, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, with his head-spinning bilateral and multilateral meeting traffic, contributed to Turkey’s assertive image as the new power broker in town.

Davutoglu has clearly been identified as the author of the new Turkish foreign policy orientation and subsequently his popularity has increased exponentially inside and outside Turkey. But if Turkey’s new diplomatic clout is to be institutionalized, it will have to develop beyond the person of Davutoglu. Mobilizing the entire country for a commonly-appealing specific goal, such as the election of President Gul as U.N. secretary-general in 2016, will simultaneously institutionalize Turkish foreign policy while also moderating it.

Gul would make an excellent U.N. secretary-general, as he served as foreign minister, prime minister and president of a country which shares almost the entire U.N. agenda from promoting development in Africa to countering terrorism and incitement to hatred on the basis of religion and race. For the candidacy in 2016, Ankara would be required to pursue an intensive lobbying campaign not only at the U.N., but also in every capital represented at the U.N. This effort would temper Ankara’s foreign policy as it should feel obliged not to disagree with the permanent members of the Security Council on issues that are sensitive to them. For instance, had such a campaign already been underway, Ankara would probably have avoided calling Beijing’s handling of the riots in the East Turkistan genocide even if it had been the case. Ankara might have reacted in a less strident manner to the Israeli assault on the Mavi Marmara and the killing of Turkish civilians.

Such a role for a Turkish diplomat could also help Turkey cement it multifaceted policy in the foreign ministry bureaucracy as well. The current multidimensional foreign policy orientation or at least its current pace is unlikely to survive without the AK Party at the helm. In his article on the Radikal daily ("Davutoglu’s ‘Self’ Conception," 15 June 2010), Akif Beki, former adviser to PM Erdogan, argued that Davutoglu’s policies were driven not by Turkey’s national interests, but by an obsession with self-promotion. In fact, Turks should be thankful to Davutoglu, as the idea of a multidimensional Turkish foreign policy is certainly unprecedented. Yet, it is peculiar for this to have been exclusively associated with the current AK Party government and the foreign minister. Its sustainability and applicability have not yet been tested by a possible replacement of the current government. Besides, all three of the Republican Peoples Party (CHP), the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which are represented in the Turkish parliament, have their own ideological limitations that would bar them from embracing such a foreign policy orientation.

Gul’s campaign for U.N. secretary-general would promote Turkey’s ability to be a power broker while simultaneously forcing Ankara to rationalize its policies and avoid sentimentalism when dealing with sensitive issues. This would strengthen its legitimacy, increase its viability and help spare the popular Davutoglu from unfair allegations of self-promotion. In any event, even if Gul were not elected as the U.N. secretary-general, Turkey would benefit from the process in multiple ways.

Mehmet Kalyoncu is advisor to the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s ambassador to the United Nations. The views expressed are his own.