President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ouster of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to clear his own path to absolute power has left many wondering what effect the move will have on Turkey's foreign policy orientation and its relations with the West in particular.

Given the way Erdogan has been ratcheting up his angry anti-Western rhetoric, some fear that Ankara's ties with the United States and Europe will remain strained for the foreseeable future over a number of seemingly irreconcilable issues.

Erdogan's finger-wagging approach to the West is what endears him to Turkey's conservative Islamic masses. Faced with a need for political support as he pushes for a new constitution at home that will give him the power he currently lacks as Turkey's sole leader, Erdogan is not likely to alter his populist line anytime soon.

"On those occasions when it is necessary for me to stand up defiantly to the whole world, I do this knowing that I have the support of the Turkish public behind me," he told a crowd in the eastern city of Malatya recently, adding, "The eyes of the Islamic world are on Turkey." His recent speeches and statements indicate that what he ultimately desires is a unified Islamic world with a leadership able to confront the West from a position of strength.