Turkey and Iran: Competitive Collaboration
The timing of the critical visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Tehran this week corresponded with a very sensitive regional and international conjuncture.
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Turkey is Bound to Become a Regional Energy Hub
If TANAP and Turkish Stream successfully create the expected synergy, Turkey will become both a regional energy hub and a major player in global energy diplomacy.
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What do the Crimean Tatars mean for the region? Why did Russia take such a dramatic step as annexation, and what does Russia expect from this? Where does Turkey stand on this issue?
A parliamentary and technocratic commission should be formed to prepare a blueprint for a radical overhaul of Turkey's workplace security regime.
The AK Party has become the primary party in all seven regions in Turkey. It was able to go toe to toe with the CHP in the Aegean region - due to alliances between the CHP and MHP.
In fact, the evidence suggests the contrary and that it is the Muslim democrats in the current government who initiated direct talks with the Kurds, the Alevis and the Roma people in Turkey for the first time in the Republic's history.
Turkey and the Transformation of NATO
Recent years have made it clear that NATO is going through a transformation process; Turkey will be one of the allies most affected by this process. Both the future of NATO and Turkey’s perception of NATO membership will be at stake unless the allies can reach consensus on the core strategic issues of the transformation agenda. Analysts urgently need to come up with convincing answers to the following questions: In which ways has NATO’s transformation been going through? Why does Turkey feel uneasy with some aspects of the process? What steps should Turkey take in order to ensure that the transformation of the Alliance is viewed positively at home?
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Turkey and NATO: Is Non-Alliance an Option?
Speaking to Milliyet columnist Fikret Bila, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated that Turkey is being forced to take sides in the Georgian conflict.
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Joe Biden was selected as Barack Obama’s vice presidential candidate largely because of his expertise in foreign policy. Traditionally, in U.S. politics, Dick Cheney-like strong vice presidents are exception, not the rule. It is wiser to focus on Obama’s foreign policy outlook rather than Biden’s, which would benefit Turkey in the long run with its realistic tendencies. Biden’s voting pattern, as it is displayed in three different issues (Cyprus-Armenian Issue-Iraq) does not seem friendly to the Turkish position. However, Biden as a statesman would not create extra problems for Turkey at the expense of U.S national interests. In all of these issues, the person that should be watched carefully is Obama, not Biden. Spending more energy to analyze Obama’s geopolitical priorities can benefit Turkey in the long run.
Turkey has been involved, historically and demographically, with many of the regions of “frozen conflict” in post-Soviet space. At this point, one might consider the position of Turkey as being at the epicenter of Euro-Atlantic and Russian extremes concerning the frozen conflicts. Georgia, since 1991, has been considered a valuable “strategic partner” by Turkey for several reasons. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan’s Caucasus Pact idea is a good opportunity to create an inclusive (Russia+Turkey+Georgia+Armenia+Azerbaijan) new foreign policy approach at this stage. This approach should be merged with the representation of all the frozen or unfrozen conflict areas, peoples, ethnic groups and regions included under the roof of such an alliance.
Last week Turkey witnessed a first. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan broke his fast with 1,000 Alevis in Ankara. The fast was in observance of the beginning of the month of Muharram.
