Modern Foreign Development Assistance Approaches of the Turkish Republic

In the 21st century intensification of so-called ‘emerging’ (‘new’) donors – countries outside the DAC of the OECD – has become one of the most important features of international development architecture’s transformation. Besides the BRICS and the Gulf countries the Turkish Republic attracts the most attention among them. Remaining a recipient of foreign aid in the new millennium Turkey preferred to accelerate increase of aid volumes for developing countries. This allowed her to gain a firm foothold in the top three ‘emerging’ donors. The range of Turkey’s recipients has expanded significantly. In recent years a special place among them is occupied by the least developed countries (LDC), including those affected by instability and armed conflicts. The article reveals the specifics of Turkey's contemporary approaches to development assistance to foreign states, the key internal and external determinants of their evolution, as well as the interaction of the Republic’s general political and strategic interests and own understanding of imperatives of development and security in the modern world. Particular attention is paid to the self-perception of the Republic of Turkey as an ‘emerging donor’, the country’s relation to other participants of international cooperation and to the peculiarities of Turkish donor activity’s assessment in scientific and expert community. The author concludes that the Turkish approach to foreign assistance is mostly based on the models for foreign aid delivery used by Western donors. However, Turkey's attitude to international cooperation is also based on its historical, cultural, linguistic and religious distinctions. The Turkish authorities assess them as an advantage that most ‘traditional’ donors do not have. Like other donor-countries Turkey is guided not only by humanitarian motives, but also the desire to realize its political and economic interests in the turbulent world, considering development assistance tools in the context of ensuring national security in the broadest sense of the word.