STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IN CENTRAL ASIA: WHAT TURKEY CAN LEARN FROM INDIA'S "CONNECT CENTRAL ASIA" POLICY

Despite its NATO membership and relationship with the United States, Turkey has embarked on strategic policy of deepening its ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This article analyzes the possible outcomes for Turkish policy in Central Asia though a comparative analysis with India's similar policy in the region. New Delhi has sought to maintain its strategic autonomy from both Moscow and Washington. India's policy has caused Russia, in addition to China, to marginalize India in the region. Without a strategic partnership with any of the major powers, New Delhi finds itself sidelined in several Central Asian republics in the run-up to NATO's 2014 Afghanistan withdrawal.