All Policy Analysis by Alan Makovsky

Four experts discuss the opposition's landslide victory and its implications for Turkish politics generally and President Erdogan's future specifically.

Hours after Turkish voters delivered a stunning victory to President Erdogan's party in snap parliamentary elections, three of America's leading experts on Turkish politics shared an in-depth discussion of the vote and what it means for Turkey's future.

On July 23, 2007, Soner Cagaptay, Matthew Bryza, and Alan Makovsky addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Dr. Cagaptay is a senior fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. Mr. Bryza is deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. Mr

Turkey's economic crisis is naturally the leading issue in bilateral U.S.-Turkish relations, and it is almost certainly topping the agenda of today's meetings of Foreign Minister Ismail Cem with Vice President Richard Cheney and other senior officials. Of course, these meetings pose the difficult question of how much Washington should

Turkey's economic near-meltdown last week — its second financial crisis in three months — was precipitated by political problems, not by narrowly economic issues. Until the political problems are addressed, the prospects for any new economic package will be questionable. With Turkish leaders and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) both

This is the second of a two-part series marking the six months since Bashar al-Asad became president of Syria on July 17, 2000. Read Part I. For a region used to the late Hafiz al-Asad’s stodgy predictability, his son Bashar’s six-month-old presidency has displayed a surprisingly active foreign policy, including

This is the first of a two-part series marking the six months since Bashar al-Asad became president of Syria on July 17, 2000. Read Part II. On January 11, a petition signed by a thousand Syrian intellectuals appeared in the Lebanese press demanding -- inter alia -- freedom of expression

As Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak prepares for his upcoming trip to Washington, the United States is not the only strategic partner whose ties with Israel may be tested by violence in the West Bank and Gaza. In an era when Turkeys defeat of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and

If passed, a non-binding resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives calling upon the U.S. government to recognize the "Armenian genocide" as historical fact will sour U.S.-Turkish relations at a time when bilateral ties are more vulnerable than they have been for years and when Turkish support for U.S. policies

Last week, a seemingly arcane argument produced a political crisis in Turkey that set back, at least temporarily, the government's longstanding anti-Islamist campaign. What began as a dispute over constitutional interpretation of presidential powers embittered relations between the nation's two top officials-President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit-to

Today's election by Parliament of Ahmet Necdet Sezer as president of Turkey brings a fresh but somewhat paradoxical personality to a job that can be powerful or not, depending in large part on the officeholder's personality. During a two-year stint as chief of Turkey's highest court, Sezer has been an

Leaders of Turkey's governing coalition meet tomorrow seeking agreement on a presidential candidate who can muster a parliamentary majority and replace Suleyman Demirel when his term expires May 16. Mainly at stake for Turkey in the upcoming presidential selection process is the survivability and effectiveness of the Ecevit government and

ALAN MAKOVSKY The emergence of close Israeli-Turkish relations is one of the significant strategic developments in the post-Cold War Middle East. These ties are likely to flourish as long as Israel and Turkey remain pro-Western, anti-Islamic fundamentalist, and compatible in military inventory. Turkish-Israeli ties should be described as a "strategic

When Syrians, Americans, and Israelis sat down in Washington this week, they may as well have kept an empty chair for a fourth key player in this equation--Turkey. Turkish water, in particular, will likely be needed to facilitate a Syrian-Israeli deal, but history suggests that Ankara will not provide that

The European Unions (EU) naming of Turkey as a full-fledged candidate for membership is of historic significance. The first-ever Muslim-majority candidate, Turkey differs significantly from current EU member-states not only in religion, but also in culture, history, and the wide range of regional security threats it faces. U.S. diplomacy was

Spurned two years ago, a wary Turkey again hopes to be designated a candidate for membership in the European Union (EU) when the EU summit meets in Helsinki December 10-11. That this prospect is on the brink of realization is a tribute to many factors, but perhaps most of all

President Clinton's trip to Turkey for the November 18-19 OSCE summit will be historic for U.S.-Turkish relations. The November 15-17 bilateral portion of the trip (perhaps now in doubt following another shocking earthquake in Turkey today) will mark only the third visit by a U.S. president to Turkey and the

Turkish prime minister Bulent Ecevit's meeting with U.S. president Bill Clinton tomorrow will produce warm atmospherics but no major earthquake-related aid. Washington had planned to make loan guarantees the centerpiece of both its relief package and Ecevit's trip. Reportedly unhappy with what it considered a low figure, however, Ankara indicated

Buoyed by its recent antiterrorism successes in facing down Syria and capturing Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Turkey now turns its sights on Iran. A series of Turkish-Iranian security meetings tomorrow through Friday will focus on Tehran's allegedly growing support to anti-Turkish organizations. In trying to

Since the Gulf War, Turkey has emerged as a regional power, both in fact and in self-image. Elements of Turkey's new activism include its relationship with Israel, its willingness to threaten to use force when it deems necessary (for example, against the Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK] in northern Iraq and