Trade Diplomacy Beyond Economics: How Türkiye Builds Strategic Partnerships Through Commerce

For a long time, I used to think of trade as numbers on a balance sheet. It was just imports and exports. A series of economic exchanges that felt removed from, what seemed to me at least, the far more intriguing human and political dimensions of international relations. This changed after I began to explore International Relations in more depth, as I began to understand that trade can act as a language that determines trust, as well as the nature of long-term collaborations between nation-states. I will explore its importance in relation to the example of Türkiye, which uses trade for both economic growth as well as the development of strategic partnerships with other countries.

In International Relations Theory, economic interdependence refers to the idea that when countries trade with each other, their increasingly overlapping interests reduce their likelihood of engaging in conflict. Trade can provide a powerful incentive, and the cost of disrupting it will encourage parties to engage in dialogue before violence. In this way, these economic contracts bring on far more important political commitments. Furthermore, as multiple nations trade and create a complex network defined as economic interdependence, more nations will promote peace in order to maintain their own interests, pushing them to prioritize continued cooperation over conflict.

This has always been crucial to Türkiye’s approach to trade. While growth is certainly a factor, the country also uses trade to build relationships through Free Trade agreements and Regional Partnerships, continually diversifying markets in order to explore new partners and opportunities. Diversification is a particularly important factor here, as it provides nations like Türkiye with autonomy and diplomatic flexibility. By building strong ties with a wide range of partners, the Nation avoids overreliance, creating room for independence in its decision-making. 

These regular channels of communication promote transparency and reassure other Nations as their actions will become predictable. On a global scale, other States understand how Türkiye will continue to promote its own trade, making it unlikely for it to begin conflicts and potentially disrupt its own interests. By establishing these expectations, it uses trade as a platform to cultivate stronger ties. In order to support this process, Türkiye participates in WTO frameworks, regional trade mechanisms, and bilateral trade councils. These platforms provide spaces for constructive negotiations, encouraging compromise and holding all parties accountable to the agreed norms. Eventually, potential competitors begin coordinating with each other, as the benefits of trade drive them to negotiate in the face of increasingly aligned interests. 

As a student of international relations with an interest in international business, I have begun to see diplomacy as a subject that lies at the intersection of both politics and economics. Trade, in many ways, acts as the veinwork of global geopolitics– defining how the flow of interests circulates across the system. Thus, to understand trade diplomacy is to understand much of the tangible dimensions of international political dynamics.