Not since the days of the Ottoman Empire has the Turkish military had such an extensive global footprint. Under its ambitious president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey sent troops to Libya to turn the tide of the war there, and it keeps up a military presence in Syria, Iraq, Qatar, Somalia and Afghanistan as well as maintaining peacekeeping troops in the Balkans. At the same time, the Turkish navy patrols the Mediterranean and Aegean seas where it has laid claim to energy and territorial interests amid escalating tensions with European Union members Greece and Cyprus. The effort comes at a cost. The military budget as a percentage of gross domestic product has risen, from 1.8% in 2015 to 2.5% in 2018, at a time when Turkey’s economy has weakened. Here’s a look at where Turkey is flexing its muscle, and why.
Bloomberg: Mapping the Turkish military’s expanding footprint
A Turkish military convoy is pictured in the village of al-Mastumah, about seven kilometres south of the city of Idlib on Feb. 8, 2020.
