Search

Begin New Search Political Geography Turkey

921. Turkey's New Engagement in Iraq: Embracing Iraqi Kurdistan

Author:
Henri J. Barkey
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
In August 2009, the Turkish government announced that it would undertake a major initiative toward Turkey's Kurdish minority. In addition to being a major development in the long saga of Turkey's relations with its sizeable Kurdish minority, this initiative, known as the “democratic opening,” is also a testament to the distance the Turkish government has traveled in its policy toward Iraq. Turkey, which had once spearheaded opposition to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), is implementing a 180-degree turn in its policy toward the KRG. It is developing close economic and political ties with the KRG, and the two are collaborating on a gamut of issues, including efforts to pacify the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). At the heart of these changes lay a confluence of developments. They include the new geopolitics of the region, the new foreign policy conception of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey's domestic institutional context, changing perceptions within Turkey of the domestic Kurdish question, and efforts by key individual actors within Turkey. On the geopolitical level, the announced withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq has helped shift Turkey's approach to Iraq. Whether it is part and parcel of a conscious strategy by Ankara, Turkey's ability to influence events on the ground is greatest in northern Iraq. In Baghdad, Turkey has to contend with not just American competition but, far more significantly, the Iranian presence. Ironically, any increase in Turkish influence in the KRG translates into more in Baghdad because of the Kurds' critical role in Iraq's capital. On the foreign policy level, the AKP took advantage of the vacuum created by the war in Iraq and began to fashion itself as a regional power. In a policy that some have come to call “neo-Ottomanism,” Turkey is expanding the contours of its influence in regions that were once part of the Ottoman Empire, including Iraq.
Political Geography:
Iraq, Turkey, and Kurdistan

922. Never mind the gap: Turkish-Armenian relations past the crossroads

Author:
Einar Wigen
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
The Turkish-Armenian protocols signed in October 2009 seemed to represent a historic advance that could help resolve the two countries' dispute over the events of 1915 and change the regional dynamics for the better. But six months on, the implementation of the protocols has stalled, the much vaunted normalisation of Turkish-Armenian state-to-state relations appears all but dead, and the will to revive the process is at a low point.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Genocide, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Turkey, and Asia

923. Building Cooperation in the Eastern Middle East

Author:
Paul Salem
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
As a long-standing order breaks down, Turkey, Iran, and the Arab states of the Levant and the Gulf face both new competition and fresh opportunities for cooperation. The implosion of Iraq in the wake of the 2003 invasion removed an important buffer state, drawing Turkey, Iran, and the Arab states closer, creating friction between them, but also new common interests. The planned U.S. withdrawal from Iraq will force Iraq's neighbors to find new ways of managing those interests.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Cooperation, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Turkey, Middle East, and Arab Countries

924. Significance of Turkey-Brazil Nuclear Deal with Iran

Author:
Mehmet Ozkan
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of Foreign Policy Studies, University of Calcutta
Abstract:
With the participation of the foreign ministers of Turkey and Brazil along with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Iran has signed a joint declaration on May 17, 2010 with Brazil and Turkey "in which Iran agreed to send low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for enriched fuel for a research reactor.” This joint declaration was considered a very serious one by specialists closely following the nuclear negotiations. However, instead of responding positively to the agreement, the US and the overall reaction of the West had fixated on making sanctions against Iran a reality, although the content of the deal was what the US sought from Iran. This has materialized itself with the new UN Security Council decision which brings new sanctions on Iran. On June 9, 2010, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1929, imposing a complete arms embargo on Iran, travel bans on certain Iranian figures, banned Iran from any activities related to ballistic missiles, the freezing of all assets to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and Iran Shipping Lines, and to inspect all Iranian cargo or financial institutions, such as banks, on their territory.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, Brazil, and Latin America

925. Türkiye'nin İran Politikası 2010

Author:
Kemal İnat
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Turkey's relations with its Eastern neighbor Iran have constituted a larger portion in Ankara's foreign policy agenda, comparing to recent years. Turkey's increasing efforts in helping to resolve Iran's nuclear problems by peaceful means have caused enormous effects in Ankara's relations with Western countries. Against the opposition by the USA and other Western states Turkey has tried, by mediating, to avoid the problem to turn into conflict. Turkey's foreign policy objectives such as 'zero problems with neighbors' and 'resolving conflicts by increasing interdependency', were also in place in its policies vis-à-vis Iran. In addition to that, Ankara has put particular emphasis on increasing economic ties with Iran in 2010.
Political Geography:
United States, Iran, Turkey, and Tehran

926. Lübnan 2010

Author:
Filiz Cicioğlu
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Lebanon, one of the most problematic countries in the Middle East for many years, has spent the year 2010 as more active foreign policy compared the previous years. After the parliamentary elections in 2009 and the establishment of the government, domestic political stability has been somewhat secured. The most important subject of the do-mestic agenda was the expectation of the decision of Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Although the decision was not made in 2010, this issue was one of the most debated issues among both groups within the country and their supporters abroad. The new government headed by Saad Hariri who tried to follow an active foreign policy has continued its efforts to establish close relations with regional countries. In this context the relations between Turkey and Lebanon is important. In 2010 besides Turkey, Iran emerged as an important partner. Another important development in foreign policy was warming relations with Syria. In addition to this, the visit of President Bashar al-Assad and Sau-di King Abdullah was a significant foreign policy development in 2010. Turkey, Syria and Jordan, Lebanon initiated an integration process. In Israeli border, a conflict has occurred in 2010, but the event has been stopped before getting greater.
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, Middle East, Lebanon, and Syria

927. Katar 2010

Author:
Ensar Muslu
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Qatar, with its economic power to enhance its diplomatic activities in various ways, aided many countries and communities, predominantly those in Africa in 2010, initiated various mediation activities and hosted cultural organizations. Qatar, which has hosted various sport activities, became entitled to host a significant sport organization. Al Jazeera satellite channel is the most significant tool of the soft power of Qatar. In 2010, its relations with Iran, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, and the United Kingdom were intense. Among them, the two powerful states of the region, Iran and Turkey, occupied the agenda. While the main agenda item of its relations with Iran was the possible American intervention, developments in economic relations principally constituted the relations with Turkey. Qatar has become one of the important economic actors thanks to its oil and natural gas revenues. Its economic activities cover investments in oil and natural gas drilling and plants; and also utilization of revenues received from these fields in other areas. Qatar founded some petrochemical plants and got into financial partnerships by buying shares of international banks in 2010. Many infrastructure and construction projects were prepared and some of them began to be carried out.
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Qatar

928. President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül

Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
"What Next? Turkey's Global Vision for a Prosperous Future" An address by President Abdullah Gül of Turkey followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Islam
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Asia

929. Pax Ottomana

Author:
Hugh Pope
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Turkey's ruling party is sometimes criticized for being Islamist or ideological, but its policies remain essentially nationalist and commercially opportunistic.
Topic:
Islam
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Europe, Turkey, and Middle East

930. Decoding Turkish Foreign Policy Hyperactivity

Author:
Jonathan Paris and Ziya Meral
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Washington Quarterly
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Ever since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) initially assumed power in 2002, soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks, international media has devoted more attention to developments in Turkey. For domestic observers, the conservative Muslim AKP's emergence and subsequent landslide victory in 2007 evoked fears about eroding secularism in the country. For foreign observers, as the threat of militant Islamism became the lens through which to view events in the Muslim world, the AKP's electoral victories stoked worries about theWest ''losing'' Turkey. Although the AKP's record-breaking eight years in office have cooled much of the hysteria about Turkey's domestic orientation, recent Turkish foreign policy activity has unleashed a brand new wave of handwringing about Ankara.
Political Geography:
Turkey