Turkey – the Economy and Relations with the Middle East and Europe

MapRegionMiddleEast+Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chatham House, September 18, 2012

In Istanbul, the President of Global Relations Forum Memduh Karakullukçu talks to Fadi Hakura of Chatham House about Turkey’s economic outlook and relations with the Middle East and Europe. Podcast: http://ow.ly/1mvyZ4

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Foreign Policy and Self-image – The Societal Basis of Strategy Shifts in Turkey

Foreign trips by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Prime Minister of Turkey. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Günter Seufert, German Institute for International and  Security Affairs (SWP), September 2012

Turkey’s new foreign policy skilfully escapes self-depletion in an altered foreign trade strategy as well as exclusive definition by a specific ideology of the ruling government. It is the result of an irreversible process, during which a new economic elite successfully advanced new political and academic elites, its close ideological allies, and the self-perception of state and society underwent a fundamental transformation… (more) http://ow.ly/1mubZh

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Three Troubling Scenarios for Turkey and Transatlantic Partners

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

German Marshall Fund of the United States, September 2012

Almost two years on from the start of the Arab Spring, the situation across the Middle East and the Mediterranean continues to produce worrisome security challenges for Turkey and Ankara’s transatlantic partners. Amid these destabilizing changes, three scenarios stand out, and could prove transformative for the security environment in and around Turkey, with no less important implications for Europe and the United States. First, Syria’s civil war could drag on for as long as a decade, further destabilizing an already fragile neighborhood. Second, Iran could develop, or come close to developing, a nuclear weapon. Finally, tensions in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean could escalate from a simmer to a boil… (more) http://ow.ly/1ms0M9

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The Prospects and Meaning of a Strategic EU-Turkey Dialogue on the Neighborhood

The European Union and Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nathalie Tocci, German Marshall Fund of the United States, September 14, 2012

Mistrust and missed opportunities characterize one of the most important relationships in the European space — that between Turkey and the European Union. As the Arab Spring unfolds, the absence of a joint EU–Turkey strategy to confront the shared challenges of the neighborhood becomes costlier by the day. From an EU perspective, the logic of cooperation with Turkey has become more compelling given the renewed significance of the Turkish model in the neighborhood. No longer a simplistic and static slogan, the Turkish experience has become a more dynamic and articulate notion that Arab leaders can explore as they grapple with the challenges of domestic change… (more) http://ow.ly/1mrY14

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The Arab Spring and the Kurdish Awakening

Brookings Institute: The Arab Spring and the Kurdish Awakening – “The real fear is not that Syria is dividing. It’s that the Kurds are uniting,” Aliza Ma http://ow.ly/1miUWP

Turkey and the European Sclerosis

German Marshall Fund of the United States: Turkey and the European Sclerosis – Relations between Turkey and the European Union have been tested during Europe’s current economic wo http://ow.ly/1miHdh

European Union Common Security and Defence Policy

This map represents notable regional organisations related to collective security, also known as military alliances. NATO, CSDP SCO, CSTO PSC SADC (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Luis Simón and Jolyon Howorth, European Geostrategy, September 4, 2012  
(Over the next few months the editors of European Geostrategy will undertake a number of interviews with various individuals who are involved in thinking about European foreign, security and military policies. In this third interview in the series, Luis Simón discusses European relations with the United States with Jolyon Howorth, the Emeritus Professor of European Studies at the University of Bath, and long-time analyst of the European Union’s efforts to forge a common military policy.)

(more) … http://ow.ly/1mhljS

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Welcome to the Kurdish Spring, the sequel

Kurdish Areas of Northern Iraq (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Tom Squitieri, Foreign Policy Association, August 30, 2012

…So as Kurdish refugees clung to the freezing mountains in northern Iraq and pushed to the border of a panic-stricken Turkey a guilt ridden U.S. — along with Britain and France and Turkey’s acquiesence — established a no-fly zone in northern Iraq. That gave the Iraqi Kurds breathing space and some protection and – most importantly – the chance to build their own government.2

And their own home… (more) http://ow.ly/1mcL1W

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Turkey’s private security guards outnumber armies of six countries in Europe

StratRisks, August 28,2012

(Source: Zaman)

Turkey has roughly 217,000 private security guards who are employed in public offices and private companies, a figure that outnumbers the soldiers in the armies of six countries in Europe — Austria, Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway and the Czech Republic… (more) http://ow.ly/1mblzF

StratRisks: Talk Brews Among NATO Allies Of Syrian No-Fly Zone

StratRisks, August 24, 2012

(Source: IBTimes)

The West and its allies appear to be taking baby steps toward creating a no-fly zone over Syria — with the important qualification that it be limited in scope, minimize chances of an open war with Damascus

Luxembourgian-registered NATO E-3 AWACS flying with three American Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft in a NATO exercise (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

and receive broad international support… (more) http://ow.ly/1m7x8V

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