We are witnessing the beginning of the end of the previous world order and 2016 could very well be remembered in history when this change became apparent. The global geopolitical balance is tilting and this time against the west. It is the year, when people of the United Kingdom voted to opt out of the political project in the Europe, it is the year when key western allies like the Philippines started changing their camp, it is also the year when the western alliance lost their influence over a key ally in the Middle East; Turkey.

Turkey is a very good example of the west’s lost influence in the key regions of the world. Consider the following happenings:

• Turkey has long been a western ally. It is a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 1952. It is also part of the coalition that wants to topple the Assad regime in Syria. The above clearly means that Turkey is quite far from the new alliance (Russia-China) that is threatening the shift in previous world order led by the United States.
• The relation between Russia and Turkey came under severe strain after the latter shot down a Russian war plane SU-24 in Syria in November last year. After this incident, it would difficult to imagine Turkey moving out of the western alliance, especially since it was a member of the western alliance during the cold war. In response to this incident, Russia imposed several economic sanctions on Russia and further strained the relations between the two countries.
• Yet, Russia and Turkey is now considered as closer than ever and they could be seen as forming an anti-US alliance. Turkey’s authoritarian president Tayipp Erdogan personally apologized to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia lifted its sanctions on Turkey and the countries are about to sign several bilateral deals that include a gas pipeline. Turkey would also buy defense system from Russia. The relation became so smooth that in August Mr. Erdogan announced that he would not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

So how did it happen? How could the western alliance lost or came on the verge of losing a key ally?

Well, it could be the lack of cooperation from the western sides after the country faced an unsuccessful military coup in July this year, or European Union’s failure to grant Turkish citizen visa-free travel despite commitment or it could also be the western support for anti-government Kurdish militia. All in all, it was the result of the failed foreign policies of the west that has now brought the world on the verge of major political power shift.