MIKTA
![Photo by Moyan Brenn | CC BY-NC 2.0](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/8273661351_e3ba5171dc_o.jpg?itok=rpZXNYmh)
October 15, 2015
This article unpacks Turkey’s transition from being a historically status-quo nation to that of a proactive international player, using as examples the recent formation of a middle power alliance with Mexico, Indonesia, Korea and Australia (MIKTA), an emphasis on religion as an “explicitly recognized factor of influence on foreign policy,” and economic cooperation with developing countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Syria and the former Soviet Republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus.