LEAD
Leaders' Visits & Agreements Database Project is an initiative by Ankara-based Africa Foundation in Türkiye. The project systematically collects data on high-level diplomatic interactions of selected African countries that are strategically important to Türkiye in the continent. The resulting comprehensive database will document high-level visits and bilateral agreements of selected African countries from 1990 to 2025. By collecting such empirical data, this project will address a critical research gap in ongoing scholarly debates about African states’ international outlook and Turkey’s evolving engagement with Africa and, thereby, inform policymakers for more effective decision-making. The project will ultimately demonstrate African states’ strategic priorities and interactions throughout the world.
Background & Purpose
The project codifies high-level visits and bilateral agreements signed by selected African leaders, including heads of state, foreign ministers, finance (state) ministers, defense ministers, and chiefs of staff. First and foremost, the database will empirically demonstrate the nature and scope of diplomatic engagements that have been carried out by African states. More importantly, the database will potentially identify which areas requiring more attention to improve relations with African states, particularly in the areas of diplomacy, economics, and security. The codification process will particularly cover the period from 1990 to 2025 and focus on the following categories:
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(i) Leaders’ Visits: The title and name of leaders conducting visits; visit start and end dates; visit types; et cetera.
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(ii) Bilateral Agreements: Bilateral agreement types and categories; sign, ratification, and termination dates; et cetera.
This data collection project strongly aligns with the Africa Foundation’ mission and will potentially provide academics and policymakers with a new quantitative database for comprehensively understanding the dynamics of African states’ international outlook and diplomatic engagements, be they official or unofficial. The resulting quantitative database will be a valuable source of information and expected to inform policies and policy-making processes in the field of African relations.
Contact
For further inquiries and potential collaborations, please contact us.