Providing assistance to the least developed countries has remained one of the top priori- ties for leading international actors in the XXI century, and the Republic of Turkey is no exception in this regard. The Justice and Development Party’s ascension to power in 2002 led to a drastic revision of the Turkish foreign policy and adoption of a novel approach to the least developed countries accounting for the complex interdependence between security and development. This approach was tested in Afghani- stan where Turkey contributed to both post-con ict reconstruction of the country and to the activities of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Since 2015 Turkey has been actively engaged in the new NATO ‘Resolute Support’ mission, while continuing its economic support to Afghanistan on bilateral and multilateral basis. This paper aims to unveil the particularities of the Turkey’s Afghan strategy, which has yet escaped the Russian scholars’ attention, with the help of the Turkish primary sources and academic works. It studies the speci city of bilateral relations and their determinants, including historic ties and religious and cultural proximity. It provides an in-depth analysis of the activities of both Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) and the Turkish Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan and examines the challenges of Turkish troops’ presence on the Afghan soil and the way how the Turkish elites and Turkey’s NATO allies perceive it.
Key words: Turkey, Afghanistan, Turkish-Afghan relations, security, o cial development assistance, least developed countries, TIKA, Development and Justice Party, Provincial Reconstruction Teams, NATO, International Security Assistance Force.
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3. Bartenev V.I. Vlijanie sobytij 11 sentjabrja 2001 g. na politiku SShA v sfere sodejstvija mezhdunarodnomu razvitiju [In uence of the 11th September 2001 on the US policy in sphere of international development assistance]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Ser. 25. Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija i mirovaja politika. 2011. No 3. P. 184–218.
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5. Ivanova I.I. Turecko-afganskie otnoshenija na sovremennom jetape [Turkish-Afghan relations on the con- temporary stage]. Afganistan 2010. Moscow: IV RAN, 2010.
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vol. XV, no. 3–4, pp. 133–146.
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of Turkish Geopolitics in the AKP’s Foreign Policy: from Europe to an Extended Neighbourhood. Ed. by Bahri Yılmaz, Emidio Diodato, Federico Donelli, Alessia Chiriatti and Salih Doğan. Università per Stranieri di Perugia. 2014. Pp. 52–68.
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24. Kabil Havalimanının Komutası TSK'da. Hürriyet – 31.12.2014.
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12, no. 4. Pp. 131–145.
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Use of Force and Security Identity Formation. Global Governance. 2013. Vol.19. Pp. 589–610.
28. Murphy T., Sazak O. Turkey’s Civilian Capacity in Post-Con ict Reconstruction. Istanbul Policy Center, Sabancı University. 2012.
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31. TBMM Kararı no. 1079. Resmi Gazete. Sayı: 29232. 06.01.2015.
32. TIKA Faaliyet Raporu 2013. İstanbul: Biltur Basım Yayın ve Hizmet A.Ş, 2014.
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34. Turkey’s Afghan Mission to Continue ‘As Long As Kabul wants’. TRTWorld. 25.12.2015. Available at: http://
www.trtworld.com/turkey/turkeys-afghan-mission-to-continue-as-long-as-kabul-wants-17498 (accessed:
25.03.2016).
35. Turkey Steps Up Reconstruction to Afghanistan. Dünya – 22.07.2010
36. Türk Askerinin Afganistan'da Ne Işi Var. Hürriyet – 16.03.2012.
37. Türkiye, Afganistan'da Afyon Üretimini Bitirdi. Milliyet – 27.02.2007
38. Türkiye Afganistan'daki Askeri Varlığını Niçin Artırıyor? Al-Monitor – 20.11.2014.
39. Türkiye-Afganistan İlişkilerinin 95. Yılı. Haberler.com. 01.03.2016. Available at: http://www.haberler.com/
turkiye-afganistan-iliskilerinin-95-yili-8213710-haberi/ (accessed: 27.03.2016).
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41. Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Tutanak Dergisi. Dönem: 24. Yasama Yılı: 5. 38'inci Birleşim. 6 Ocak 2015, Salı.
42. Türkiye’nin İkili Dış Yardımları (1992-1996). T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Planlama Teşkilatı. Mart, 1998.
43. What TİKA Did In Afghanistan In 10 Years. TIKA. Available at: http://www.tika.gov.tr/en/news/what_tika_
did_in_afghanistan_in_10_years-15837 (accessed: 20.03.2016).
