ABSTRACT
This chapter examines two research questions: the first is why involvement in Somalia has made Turkey a "hybrid" actor in Africa; the second is how Turkish engagement could be explained in such crisis situations where all other external actors and the international community were unable to solve the problems and were unwilling to fully commit. The chapter shows that Turkish rapprochement towards Africa has made Turkey a regional actor which is different from the traditional Western powers, as well as from the emerging non-Western ones. It analyzes and explains the characteristics, benefits, challenges, and limits of Turkey's actions in the Horn of Africa. The chapter also examines Turkey's current presence in Somalia, highlighting coordinated actions between state institutions and civil society organizations. The Somali civil war erupted at a time of profound change in the global order, and Somalia became a laboratory for a new form of international engagement through humanitarian and military intervention on an unprecedented scale.
