In today’s complex world, Turkey and India stand out as two fascinating countries that play similar roles in their regions despite being thousands of miles apart. Like skilled jugglers, both nations manage to keep friendly relations with opposing global powers – Russia on one side and Western countries on the other. Both countries are building strong militaries, developing nuclear power, and acting as important leaders in their neighbourhoods. What makes their story particularly interesting is how they have learned to balance these relationships while growing their own influence, much like walking a diplomatic tightrope between competing world powers. Undoubtedly, they have their own foreign policy, and their foreign policy manoeuvres have been different on several occasions. However, these two countries have several similarities in their navigation in the current world order. First, Let’s discuss the unique geopolitical positioning and the regional power dynamics. Then, the article dives into maintaining military and nuclear relations with Russia. At last, the article tries to provide domestic and social similarities between these two democratic countries.
Geographic Leverage and Regional Power Dynamics
The geopolitical positioning of both Turkey and India has become the foundation of their geopolitical influence, giving each state strategic advantages in their respective regions. Turkey, straddling Europe and Asia, controls critical maritime chokepoints through its control of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. This enables Turkey to regulate naval access between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. This strategic location has historically made Turkey an indispensable partner in regional security architectures and trade routes while also providing it significant leverage in negotiations with both European and Asian powers. Similarly, India’s dominant position in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) provides it considerable strategic depth and control over crucial maritime trade routes that connect Europe, West Asia, and East Asia. Its central location in South Asia, with an extensive coastline of over 7,500 kilometres, allows India to project power across the Indian Ocean, monitor critical sea lanes of communication (SLOCs), and serve as a crucial player in the Indo-Pacific strategy. Both nations have leveraged their geographic positions to increase their diplomatic weight. Turkey’s position is in an energy transit hub between resource-rich regions and European markets. At the same time, India utilizes its location to establish itself as the primary security provider in the Indian Ocean Region and a crucial partner in maintaining regional maritime security. This geographic leverage has provided an upper hand to both countries to pursue independent foreign policies and maintain strategic autonomy in a multiplex world.
The regional leadership aspirations and capabilities of Turkey and India demonstrate remarkable parallels rooted in their historical influence and contemporary strategic capabilities. Turkey, under its current foreign policy doctrine, has actively pursued a leadership role that extends beyond its traditional sphere of influence in West Asia, reaching into Central Asia, the Balkans, and North Africa. This growth is expressed through different means: cultural diplomacy by organizations like TÜRKSOY in Central Asia, economic integration through trade agreements, and military cooperation through defence partnerships and arms exports to countries such as Azerbaijan and Pakistan. The country has been acting as a mediator in regional conflicts, especially in the Russia-Ukraine war negotiations and in West Asian diplomacy. In similar lines, India has managed to establish itself as a regional player in South Asia through its various instruments of influence: leading in regional organizations such as SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), through ‘Neighborhood First’, and as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region. Economic gravity, as the largest economy in South Asia, and its growing role in regional infrastructure development through initiatives like BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) further reinforce India’s regional leadership. Both nations leverage their demographic weight, economic capabilities, and military strength to maintain regional primacy while managing complex relationships with smaller neighbouring states. The approaches to regional leadership shared common features: they both stressed economic integration, security cooperation, and cultural ties, but each carefully balanced the relations with global powers in order to maintain their autonomous leadership positions in their respective regions.
Common Patterns in Military and Nuclear Cooperation with Russia
Despite their disparate historical trajectories, Turkey and India show remarkable similarities in their military and nuclear cooperation with Russia. Both nations have maintained significant military hardware relations with Russia, including the purchase of S-400 missile systems, which has brought similar diplomatic headaches to the United States under CAATSA sanctions. This shared experience reflects their commitment to strategic autonomy in defence procurement. Both have dealt with Russia for crucial civilian nuclear projects in the nuclear field – India for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant and Turkey for the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. It signifies mutual recognition of Russia’s leadership in nuclear technology and an intent to diversify energy sources while getting technical expertise.
Balancing Relations Between West and Russia-China Axis and Strategic Autonomy
The way both Turkey and India manage their relations with the West and the Russia-China axis is a reflection of mature diplomatic manoeuvring. Despite Turkey, a NATO member, and India, a Quad participant, both countries have strong Western partnerships but maintain their decision-making autonomy. This delicate balance is particularly evident in their approach to Russia and China. Both countries have kept pragmatic relations with Russia but are cautious of Chinese influence, though the nature of their concerns differs. For Turkey, it is a concern of economic over-reliance, while India faces direct territorial challenges from China. Their economic strategies also reflect this balancing act, as both use the significant size of their markets and strategic importance to keep productive relationships in all directions.
The multi-directional foreign policy adopted by both countries exhibits their understanding of contemporary global political changes. Both carefully manage the potential conflict or rivalry while engaging regional powers. Turkey’s relationships with Greece and regional West Asian powers can be compared with India’s complex relationship management with Pakistan and other South Asian neighbours. Both have evolved their approaches to sophisticated regional security management, providing themselves as security providers and at the same time, retaining strategic flexibility.
Domestic Social and Political Similarities
In recent decades, both Turkey and India have experienced significant shifts in their political and social identity, moving away from their founding secular principles. Under President Erdogan’s leadership, Turkey has gradually shifted from Ataturk’s strict secular vision, incorporating more Islamic elements into public life and governance. A striking example is the controversial conversion of the Hagia Sophia from a museum back to a mosque in 2020, symbolically breaking with Turkey’s secular tradition and asserting a more Islamic national identity. Similarly, India, during the Prime Minister Modi-led government, has experienced a shift from Nehru’s secular framework to a Hindu-nationalist orientation through various policy and legislative changes. In this regard, the prominent example is the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act, which, for the first time, brought religion as an element in determining citizenship in India. Discussions regarding the secular character of the country are widespread. Both leaders have successfully brought religious identity to attain their political gain, transforming the character of their nations from purely secular states to ones where religion plays an increasingly prominent role in public life and policy-making. These parallel transformations have reshaped both domestic politics and their approach to regional relationships.
It is very rare to find this many similarities in foreign policy manoeuvres between two countries. Though the relationship between India and Turkey is not cordial enough but they are similar in their approach while engaging the great powers of the world. Both countries understand the complexity of world politics and navigate according to their strength in order to maximize their interests. This comparative analysis between the two countries highlights how the situation of international politics (Multiplex World) compels countries with similar geographical, political and social conditions to have similar foreign policy approaches (strategic autonomy) on the global stage.
