58Received 17.01.2024. Revised 27.02.2024. Accepted 02.04.2024.
Abstract. The article aims to analyze the role of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in the implementation of Türkiye’s humanitarian policy during the Justice and Development Party (AKP) governance. The authors identify three main tracks in the evolution of TIKA during the AKP rule: from an exclusively state body to a connecting institution in the triangle “state – business – civil society”; from the focus on Turkic states to growing attention towards countries of the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkan Peninsula; from an instrument for providing humanitarian assistance to a mechanism for promoting Turkish values in priority regions. The article examines the features of changes in the status, tasks, and functions, as well as the geographical scope of TIKA’s activities as an instrument for implementing humanitarian policy of Türkiye. The authors come to the conclusion that one of the key elements of TIKA’s success is an integrated approach to the implementation of humanitarian projects. This includes not only organization of cultural and educational events, but also its mediating role in the implementation of infrastructure projects, as well as initiatives in the fields of education and religion.
Keywords: TIKA, Türkiye, AKP, humanitarian aspect of foreign policy, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Middle East and North Africa, foreign policy
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