The basic building block of an empire is land. Erdogan's Turkey is the same size as Ataturk's Turkey save for Syria's Antakya which the French illegally gave to Turkey in the late '30s. No Arab country recognizes Turkey's occupation of Antakya, which Ankara now calls Hatay. In the absence of an expanded land mass, an empire needs influence. Turkey has no influence save in dictatorial Azerbaijan and confused Georgia. Once the Syrian/Iraqi conflict is resolved, Erdogan's tanks will return to Turkey but continue to face Kurdish demands.