The symbolism of NATO’s first
Muslim-majority nation is crucial in and of itself. In many regions,
Turkish soldiers face considerably less hostility and opposition than
forces from other countries. Turkish businesses, hospitals, and schools
dot the Afghan landscape and are only set to grow through more
public-private partnerships. And the largely untapped potential of
Turkish private enterprise has yet to be leveraged on the scale of
Ankara’s impressive campaign in Somalia.

Eliminating redundancies is a key priority for NATO, but the fact
that Turkey’s European Union accession has stalled has directly affected
attempts to integrate NATO and European Common Defense and Security
commands. By thinking creatively about Turkey’s new role, Western
policymakers can further strengthen the transatlantic community through
Ankara’s newfound activism and ambitions. This may require recasting
Turkey’s growing regional aspirations in a transatlantic context rather
than as Turkish nationalism or “neo-Ottomanism.”

As individual militaries have formed the bedrock of the transatlantic
military alliance, recognizing the extraordinary efforts of the Turkish
Armed Forces (TAF) on behalf of NATO would also go a long way to
reviving that institution and its domestic constituency. The TAF has
always promoted itself as a defender of the West in Turkey and a
guardian of the country’s secular values. But ongoing trials against
generals and continued tensions within Turkish society over the
military’s historical role mean that the TAF is now a spent political
force. Yet it still has an important role to play, both domestically and
internationally. By working with NATO pragmatically to transform itself
into a modern 21 st century professional peacetime securityproducing
institution, the TAF is in an excellent position to reclaim much of its
popularity and support in Turkey. By redefining its role, NATO can help
TAF alleviate the polarization in today’s Turkish politics, to the
benefit all parties involved.

As the Middle East’s largest and Europe’s fastest-growing economy,
Turkey is uniquely situated to play a decisive role in the future
evolution of NATO. At a time when Western leadership is being
questioned, encouraging Turkey’s emergence as a responsible
transatlantic partner in regional stability has never been more
necessary.

 Joshua W. Walker is a transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, DC.