They can run successful proxy wars. I read an article in which some expert is wondering if Turkey could become the next failed state, after Libya and Syria.
In 1920 Turkiye was a failed state. That’s what brought on Ataturk. As Erdogan pushes Turkiye back into the Ottoman mold while there is still a robust middle class and an army not yet completely co-opted it could all happen again. Ataturk came to the fore during an invasion by Greece which was trying to take advantage of the collapsing of the Sultan’s rule.