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Turkey's Powerplay: Bridging The West And The Middle East

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  • Turkey's Powerplay: Bridging The West And The Middle East

    TURKEY'S POWERPLAY: BRIDGING THE WEST AND THE MIDDLE EAST

    Washington Post
    http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal /needtoknow/2008/12/turkeys_powerplay_bridging_eur .html
    Dec 1 2008

    One of the most dramatic celebrations of Barack Obama's election as
    president took place neither in Obama's ancestral village Nyangoma
    Kogelo, Kenya nor in Chicago, Illinois but in the Turkish village of
    Cavustepe near the Turkish-Iranian border. The villagers sacrificed
    44 sheep in honor of Mr. Obama as the 44th president of the United
    States. One villager said Obama represents hope not for only for
    Americans but for all people around the world. He was giving voice
    to a sentiment shared by millions outside the US.

    One of the most dramatic celebrations of Barack Obama's election as
    president took place neither in Obama's ancestral village Nyangoma
    Kogelo, Kenya nor in Chicago, Illinois but in the Turkish village of
    Cavustepe near the Turkish-Iranian border. The villagers sacrificed
    44 sheep in honor of Mr. Obama as the 44th president of the United
    States. One villager said Obama represents hope not for only for
    Americans but for all people around the world. He was giving voice
    to a sentiment shared by millions outside the US.

    Such an enthusiastic interest in global politics is a rare scene
    in any Turkish village. Compared to the global political adventures
    of the Ottoman Empire, the modern Turkish Republic has followed the
    consistent policy line of a small nation-state caught between tradition
    and modernity, between Europe and the Muslim world, and between an
    imperial past and a secular-nationalist present. The geo-political
    realities of Turkey's environment today, however, induce it to a new
    activism in the most volatile region of the world.

    When the Cold War ended, Turkish policy circles were concerned that
    Turkey's strategic importance for the Western bloc would diminish. The
    international politics dynamics of the post-Cold War era proved to be
    the opposite. From the independence of the Turkic Republics of Central
    Asia to the first Gulf War, Turkey as a NATO member maintained and even
    increased its strategic value. With the American misadventures in the
    Middle East and Central Asia after 9/11, Turkey has found itself again
    in the middle of global power plays, regional rivalries and domestic
    concerns for stability. Renewing its bid to join the European Union,
    Turkey is willing to take risks in its region in a way that we haven't
    seen in a long time.

    Turkey is seeking to optimize its policy options with neighboring
    countries on the one hand and the big power players on the
    other. Acting with a mix of cautious idealism and shrewd pragmatism,
    Turkey is diversifying its foreign policy and becoming more active in
    regional issues. Border security and integrity, energy dependence on
    Russia and Iran, the future course of events in Iraq and Afghanistan
    force it to invest more in the Middle East. Other immediate concerns
    include Iran's nuclear ambitions, Syria's gradual acceptance into
    the political process, the Palestine issue and relations with Israel.

    Currently, Turkey is facilitating Syrian-Israeli talks, which were
    initially opposed fiercely by some Washingtonians, and waiting
    for an opportunity to take a part in the Israeli-Palestinian
    negotiations. Before coming to the recent G-20 meeting, The Turkish
    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to facilitate talks between
    Iran and the US - his first open message to President-elect Barack
    Obama. Turkey made similar gestures towards Russia in its ill-advised
    adventure in the south Caucasus. There might be a breakthrough in the
    Turkish-Armenian relations after the visit of President Abdullah Gul
    to Yerevan back in September. More is coming: Turkey is opening ten
    new embassies in Africa to raise its profile in the continent.

    Much of the current foreign policy is dictated by geo-political and
    economic imperatives, not by the so-called Islamic credentials
    or Islamist agenda of the AK Party. Turkey is capitalizing
    on opportunities presented by a globalized world of multiple and
    shifting centers of power. In all of these engagements, Turkey seems
    to be trying to balance its position as a traditional ally of the
    West with its rising profile in the Middle East, Caucasus and Africa
    While. Turkey's bid for full membership in the EU is partly tuned to
    overcoming the military-bureaucratic establishment of the Turkish
    state rather than charting a new foreign policy. Yet the domestic
    impetus provided by the EU process increases AK Party Government's
    capacity to take risks beyond the traditional nation-state borders
    of the Turkish Republic. The EU process, fully energized until a few
    years ago, has stalled because of the deadlock over Cyprus and the
    "membership fatigue" of the ruling AK Party. Nevertheless, Turkey
    is structurally and economically moving closer to the status of an
    EU country. With a young and dynamic population of 70 million and
    a relatively strong economy (the 17th largest in the world and the
    6th in Europe), Turkey is poised to assert itself as a new player in
    the region. A sign of this is Turkey's recent election into the UN
    Security Council as a non-permanent member, a position Turkey held
    more than fifty years ago.

    As the Obama administration takes over, this new Turkish profile
    is to be taken seriously. From Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle
    East peace process to energy security and international terrorism,
    Turkish-American relations are only to gain further significance in
    the years to come. Turkey's increasing profile in its region could
    prove vital to diffuse tensions between the West and the Muslim world
    and the US-Islamic world relations in particular. But this requires
    one essential rule of engagement: listening attentively and giving
    more breathing space to the key players in the region.

    Dr. Ibrahim Kalin is an Assistant Professor at the Prince Alwaleed
    Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding at Georgetown University's
    Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Dr. Kalin has published
    widely on Islamic philosophy and the relations between Islam and
    the West.
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