Trade relations between Turkey and Russia indicate that divergence between these two countries regarding the resolution of the Syrian crisis has not deeply influenced the relations between the two.

Criticisms and debates on Turkish foreign policy are embroiled in domestic polemics while regional and global variables are ignored.

It is necessary to get rid of national security concerns based on false assumptions of past years in order to ensure social peace and regional effectiveness.

The results of this litmus test will be utilized in the new Middle East numerous times!

The Kurdish political movement and PKK maintain discourses and activities similar to the ones they exhibited in old Turkey.

Turkish foreign policy has entered a new phase, and it is highly possible that this phase will prove to be a breaking point.

The new paradigm in relations seems to be working so far in critical issue areas, including Syria and NATO’s missile shield.

In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, the strategy that regional forces adopt will determine the future of the occupation in Iraq.

If we are to talk about a model, it must be the Camp David model which was imposed in our region for decades. It is a model that captured people’s will and gave it to dictators by force.

 SETA-DC PANEL DISCUSSION  Chair:     Kadir Ustun, SETA-DC   Speakers: Daniel Levy, New America Fnd. Stevn A. Cook, Council on F.R. Erol Cebeci,SETA-DC  Date: September 19, 2011 Monday  Venue: SETA-DC, Washington

The majority of the actors, particularly those who are closely related to the Syrian crisis, do not really talk about Syria even when they are speaking about Syria.

Turkey's foreign minister talks about  how the region has rediscovered its sense of possessing a common destiny.  

The profound transformation in the priorities of Turkey’s foreign policy and macroeconomic strategy should be read in view of tectonic shifts in the world system...

Turkish politics is currently undergoing a heated political debate on the constitutional reform package (supported by Prime Minister Erdogan's ruling party), which is on its way to a referendum this Sunday. The package includes amendments to 26 articles of the current constitution along. In addition, it would eliminate the controversial Article 15, a ‘temporary' article that has been in the constitution since the 1980's, preventing the prosecution of officials involved in the military coup of 1980. All in all, Sunday's referendum is one of the ruling AK Party's clearest challenges thus far to Turkey's Kemalist establishment. Since the establishment of the Turkish Republic, four new constitutions have been adopted (1921, 1924, 1961, 1982) - the latest two were drafted after military interventions - and numerous amendments have been made. Since the most recent constitution was adopted in 1982, there have been 15 amendment packages, which have affected almost half of the constitution. As such, the debate on the present constitution is not exactly a new one for Turkey, as the public is quite accustomed to constitutional changes and the public debate they generate. To understand, then, why the current package has touched off such a firestorm in Turkish society and led to an intensified political atmosphere, it is important to consider both the ramifications that the current reform efforts has for the political system in Turkey and the historical context.

Prime Minister Erdogan’s December 7th White House meeting with President Obama re-emphasized theimportance of Turkey to both the United States and its Western allies.