Opinions
Heads of member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) pictured during the 9th summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on November 11, 2022. File photo: AFP.
Kazakhstan is considering two competing proposals that reflect its strategic options as a Central Asian state. One is from China, offering infrastructure investment and immediate economic benefits, while the other is from Turkey, which emphasizes cultural ties and shared Turkic identity. The situation reflects a broader regional pattern of balancing external influence driven by economic, security, and identity-based priorities.
Turkey’s engagement with Central Asia has expanded beyond cultural diplomacy in recent years. Through the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and a network of educational, media, and political initiatives, Ankara has promoted closer Turkic cooperation across the region. While publicly framed in terms of shared heritage and cooperation, some regional observers view this approach as part of a wider foreign policy strategy.
Critics argue that a more assertive promotion of Pan-Turkism, particularly through informal nationalist networks and non-state actors aligned with Turkish strategic interests, could contribute to instability in a region where governments prioritize political control and social cohesion. Central Asia is not an open geopolitical space but a tightly managed environment in which external ideological activism may produce unintended consequences.
Beijing’s concerns
The implications of pan-Turkism are particularly sensitive for China. From Beijing’s perspective, efforts to strengthen transnational Turkic identity in Central Asia intersect with longstanding concerns regarding political activism in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and stability in China’s western border regions. In this context, even soft-power narratives may be interpreted through a security lens.
For Chinese policymakers, the concern extends beyond Turkey’s cultural presence to the possibility that more assertive interpretations of Pan-Turkism could generate ideological spillover beyond Central Asia. This contributes to Beijing’s perception of Ankara’s regional messaging as more than symbolic competition, and as a factor potentially linked to border security and internal stability.
Turkey’s limitations
The OTS is Turkey’s most visible platform for institutionalizing its role in Central Asia. Established in October 2009, the Organization consists of five full members, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and three observers Turkmenistan, Hungary, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
While the OTS officially promotes cooperation in culture, education, trade, and transport among Turkic-speaking states, some analysts view Ankara’s approach as hierarchical rather than cooperative. Turkey’s rhetoric often positions it as the political and historical center of the Turkic world, which can create the perception that Central Asian members are expected to align rather than simply cooperate.
The latter perception is especially significant since it contradicts with the multi-vector foreign policies pursued by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan to avoid dependence on any single external power. The participation of these countries in Turkic institutions is more pragmatic rather than subordinate. If the OTS is increasingly seen as advancing Turkish primacy, it could prompt a cautious resistance among member states.
Economic-political constraints
Turkey’s strategic ambitions also face a key structural constraint, economy. China remains Central Asia’s leading external economic partner, with extensive involvement in energy, infrastructure, logistics and trade. Ankara does not have the financial capacity to match or replace Beijing’s role in any comparable way.
This imbalance may lead Ankara to rely on indirect forms of competition. Rather than competing economically, Turkey may seek to expand its influence through political narratives, identity-based diplomacy, and shedding light on the long-term implications of dependence on China.
Critics argue however, that the latter approach could become more confrontational, aiming to weaken Beijing’s regional partnerships without offering comparable economic alternatives. Such dynamics are likely to increase geopolitical friction rather than reduce it.
In the political sphere, Turkey’s Pan-Turkic agenda also faces political limits within the region itself. Turkmenistan’s long-standing policy of neutrality restricts participation in initiatives with visible ideological or bloc-oriented elements, as maintaining strategic distance remains central to its foreign policy.
Meanwhile, Tajikistan falls outside the Turkic framework altogether and has stronger incentives to work through broader Eurasian mechanisms such as the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and, where relevant, structures linked to the Eurasian Economic Union. These platforms are viewed as providing more practical channels for security and economic coordination than identity-based regional initiatives.
Turkic disconnects
Even within the OTS, unity should not be overstated. Differences have periodically emerged between Turkey and Azerbaijan on one side and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan on the other, particularly regarding the pace, scope, and political implications of Turkic integration. While these differences are not always public, they reflect a consistent concern in Central Asian diplomacy; the preservation of autonomy.
For Central Asian governments, participation in Turkic initiatives is viable only so long as it does not reduce strategic flexibility. If cooperation begins to resemble alignment under Turkish leadership, internal frictions are likely to increase. This underscores that the future of the OTS depends not only on Turkey’s objectives but also on its ability to accommodate regional constraints.
While Ankara’s growing footprint in Central Asia may reflect deep-rooted cultural linkages and legitimate geopolitical interest, ambition alone does not guarantee durable influence. A strategy heavily centered on Pan-Turkic political mobilization risks creating unease in Central Asian capitals, heightening Chinese security concerns, and exposing divisions even within the Turkic institutional framework.
For Central Asian states, the primary objective remains balance, based on engaging Turkey where useful, maintaining economic relations with China, sustaining security cooperation with Russia and regional institutions, and avoiding exclusive alignment with any single power. In this context, Turkey’s effectiveness depends less on leadership claims and more on adapting to a region that prioritizes autonomy and strategic flexibility.
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