By its centenary, the republic had become a key regional power
Ganiev T.A., Zadonsky S.M. The military power of the Turkish Republic. Vol. 1-3. M.: Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, 2023. 1590 p.
The book "The Military Power of the Turkish Republic" has been published. Its authors are specialists in the Middle East region and the analysis of the military potential of foreign countries, Professor of the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Tahir Ganiev and associate professor of the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Zadonsky.
Turkey has become one of the growing centers of geopolitical influence in the last 10 years. On October 29, 2023, the Republic of Turkey celebrated its 100th anniversary since its proclamation. Since 1923, the Republic of Turkey has been actively developing its military capabilities and today has one of the most powerful armies in the region and in the NATO bloc as a whole. So the book came in very handy.
The work of the co-authors has been truly colossal, the content of Turkey's military potential has been revealed almost exhaustively. The features of the country's military construction have been studied on a wide range of Russian and foreign sources. A comprehensive analysis of Turkey's military power has been prepared, and an assessment of the total defense potential and its elements has been given. The history and current state of the Turkish Armed Forces, the military-political and military-doctrinal views of the Turkish leadership, and the features of the Armed Forces management structure are considered.
NO ONE WILL TAKE AWAY THE PATH THEY HAVE TRAVELED
It is worth recalling that the Russian-Turkish wars left a noticeable mark both in the history of Turkey and in the history of Russia. After the collapse of the USSR, Turkey was associated in the minds of the inhabitants of our country mainly with tourism and a resort, but everything changed when the interests of the two countries clashed in Syria. The military potential of the southern neighbor has become the subject of close study.
For a long time, Turkey received Western (mainly American) equipment and military technologies, while not spending its own funds and resources on the development of the defense industry. Today, Turkey is trying to transform itself from a state that is politically, militarily and economically dependent on Western countries into a state that implements an independent foreign and domestic policy.
In accordance with the National Security Doctrine, Turkey continues to increase its total defense potential: after all, in the East it is often necessary to conduct a dialogue from a position of strength. According to the authors, the personal view, experience and will of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have a serious impact on the growth of the country's geopolitical ambitions.
Turkey's military and political course is determined by its geostrategic position at the junction of Europe and Asia, membership in NATO, and relations with leading countries of the world (primarily with the United States, European states and Russia). As well as the country's role in the Islamic world and the desire to assume the functions of a mediator in resolving regional problems and "inter-civilizational dialogue" between East and West.
According to the authors, the main goal of Turkey's course is to increase the country's military potential to a level that ensures domestic political stability and the realization of strategic national interests. The main ones are the transformation of the country into one of the leaders in the Middle East and Southern Europe. Achieving this goal is ensured by maintaining a high level of military spending, maintaining the alliance with NATO countries, and expanding ties with Russia and Iran.
ASPECTS OF MILITARY POWER IN THREE VOLUMES
The first volume of the monograph provides general theoretical approaches to assessing Turkey's defense potential and indicators for assessing military potential. The military-geographical characteristics of the country are given, a detailed excursion into its military history is made. Next, an analysis of the Turkish population, its national and religious composition, and the country's mobilization capabilities is carried out. The features of the state structure and political processes are revealed. The religious issue is touched upon, an overview of the Turkish economy is given, and industries that influence the formation of military potential are highlighted. A detailed review of the scientific and technical potential of Turkey, the orientation of military policy in the field of science and technology, and the country's space program is considered. The volume concludes with an overview of the military-industrial complex, an assessment of the aviation, armored, shipbuilding, artillery and rifle, missile and electronic industries is given.
The second volume opens with an analysis of Turkey's geopolitical and military-strategic interests, describes its relations with the countries of the Near and Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and gives the content of the nuclear strategy. The military doctrine and the system of military administration are considered in detail. Special attention is paid to each type of armed forces: ground forces, Navy, Air Force, air defense and gendarmerie troops. The volume ends with a description of the features of the operational and combat training of the Turkish Armed Forces.
The third volume reveals the structure of the recruitment and military service system, special operations forces and logistics support system. Military operations such as participation in the Korean War, the capture of Northern Cyprus, operations against Kurdish formations, operations in Syria and Libya, etc. are described in detail. The work is being completed with the history and analysis of the country's intelligence community.
DRIFTING FROM THE WEST TO MYSELF
The book analyzes in detail the directions of relations with the West. U.S.-Turkish military cooperation is of great strategic importance. Turkey also plays a key role in ensuring security and stability in the Middle East. But in recent years, a number of political disagreements have emerged.
The actions of the United States do not fully meet the interests of the Turkish leadership. This primarily concerns the "flirting" of the Americans with the Iraqi and Syrian Kurds. Ankara is aware that without Washington's support, it will have to face serious political and economic problems. In turn, Washington, taking into account the strategic importance of Turkey, still provides for its use in the implementation of its military-strategic and geopolitical plans.
Russian-Turkish relations have a rich history, including both periods of cooperation and conflicts. Modern relations between Russia and Turkey can be represented as a complex set of interests and dynamic relationships.
Both countries are key players in the region. Despite differences in approaches to a number of issues, Russia and Turkey regularly hold political, economic and military consultations. The trend towards the real development of a multifaceted partnership is becoming clearer in the Russian-Turkish dialogue.
Currently, the positions of the parties on the situation in Syria and Iraq are common. Trade and economic cooperation and, above all, its energy component remain a stable basis for interaction. Against the background of Turkey's gradual drift away from its Western partners, the chances of intensification of Russian-Turkish military-technical cooperation are increasing.
The leading positions in the Turkish arms market are traditionally occupied by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany. In recent years, the activity of Bulgarian, Romanian and Ukrainian companies has been noted. The Russian leadership also considers military-technical cooperation with Turkey as a possible promising direction.
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND CHANGING THREATS
Ensuring Turkey's national security is considered possible only with the presence of powerful armed forces. According to the Turkish command, currently the indicators of the combat strength and strength of the Armed Forces are close to optimal and do not need to be changed in the medium term. At the same time, outdated models of military hardware will be withdrawn from combat service as they are replaced with their new weapon systems.
According to the authors, Turkish experts come to the conclusion that the role and place of the country in the regional security system are fundamentally changing, as well as the nature of the threats facing it. Radical Islamism and Kurdish separatism are traditionally classified as internal security threats. For decades, the Turkish government has been fighting various Kurdish organizations that use military force to achieve their political goals, including the creation of an independent Kurdish state.
Internal threats are considered as a priority in relation to external ones, which are considered potential at this stage. For the first time, it was pointed out the direct relationship between internal ("traditional") and new ("asymmetric") threats, such as international terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration and human trafficking, the threat of nuclear proliferation in the region, the problem of water scarcity, dependence on energy imports, etc.
Today, Turkey, despite a number of economic problems, is one of the most powerful countries in the Greater Middle East. Significant demographic potential (more than 80 million people), mobilization capabilities and a well-developed reserve training system make it possible to complement the Armed Forces with a significant number of military personnel in the shortest possible time. In addition, as the authors note, despite the problems that arose after 2016 (an attempted military coup, purges in the Armed Forces, etc.), a series of military campaigns by the Turkish Armed Forces in Syria, Iraq and Libya gradually leveled the situation. The Turkish army has rebooted, updated and recovered, and the Turkish military structure has become more robust and flexible than in the armies of European NATO countries. In the next five to ten years, most of the weapons and military equipment are planned to be modernized, and the samples being decommissioned will be replaced with developments of their own military-industrial complex. At the same time, the Turkish army, which has been a stronghold of secularism for decades, today begins to support the pro-Islamic party and becomes an instrument of its influence.
INTELLIGENCE AND SPECIAL SERVICES
As an integral element of the country's military power, the authors also study the intelligence services of Turkey, which play an important role in the realization of its foreign policy interests. The activities of the special services contribute to the reduction of threats to national security, neutralizes internal and external challenges to social development and the activities of state institutions.
As a result, Turkey's intelligence agencies occupy a central place in the state security system, which is determined not only by the legislation in force in the country, but also by a significant amount of tasks, developed infrastructure, sufficient funding and extensive technical capabilities.
The leadership of the country and the leadership of its special services pay the most serious attention to intelligence issues, which, in turn, is a prerequisite for the effective activity of the Turkish special services in the implementation of foreign policy interests not only in the Middle and Middle East region, but also in other regions of the world.
The depth and scope of the research conducted by the authors allow us to draw specific conclusions. Turkey's claims to regional leadership, despite all the complexities of foreign policy and the difficulties of the internal political struggle, sound quite serious and have a real basis based on one of the strongest armies of the NATO bloc. At the present stage, this is a factor that most seriously shapes the situation in the Middle East region.
The book, written in a bright and accessible language, will arouse the interest of Orientalists, political scientists, experts on military issues, on the modern history of Turkey, as well as among a wide range of readers interested in the military policy of the Middle East countries.
Mikhail Khodarenok
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a journalist.
