Erdogan has designed a determined foreign policy shift focused on expanding Turkey's military and diplomatic footprint. Turkey grew increasingly present in the first decade of the twentieth century, after Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002.
Turkey's presence was not limited to politics and economics, but soft power blended with solidity. A significant segment of Arab Islamists saw in the Turkish elections an attempt to regain their presence after they went through multiple defeats during the Arab Spring era.