Turkey as an emerging donor in the development community: The Turkish‐type Development Assistance Model (TDAM)

Motivation Over the past two decades, development communities have been intensively discussing the development assistance provided by emerging donors. Among these donors, although a relative newcomer to the development scene, Turkey has cut a distinctive figure, portraying itself as a great emerging power of its own accord. Purpose Though the modality of Turkish aid is paraded in the scholarly literature, this growing interest does not specifically explore the catch‐all term of “Turkish‐type development assistance model” (TDAM), developed for Turkish official development assistance (ODA) in 2016 to address the geopolitical, cultural, and religious landscape in a larger context. This article examines TDAM hitherto uncharted terrain, scrutinizing its patterns, characteristics, content, and modality. Methods and approach Applying an interpretive analytical framework allied with critical discourse analysis. Findings This article concludes that the concept of TDAM renders inclusive, cost‐effective, horizontal, peer‐based, and solidarity‐oriented aid relations with the recipient. Juxtaposed with the “virtuous power” paradigm of Turkey, this article reveals four main characteristics of TDAM that separate it from other emerging donors: a multitrack approach, a “human face” emphasis, the proximity of recipients, and a new discourse. Policy implications Turkish‐type debates about the changing landscape of development aid with a more critical analytical approach offer insights for broader development studies. A powerful engagement of Turkish foreign aid within an emerging donor landscape could be a new modality for the development community, thus the analysis of TDAM in this research hints at why this is the case or how this might matter for the evolving politics of aid.