PROJECT PAPER: Turkey’s Power in the Post-Soviet Region, Winter 2014

One of the main beneficiaries of the tectonic shifts in the balance of power between key players in the post-Soviet region could be Turkey, an emerging medium-sized power. However, its influence in this region will depend on its ability to resolve considerable internal problems. Turkey’s rising influence in the region constitutes both a challenge and an opportunity for the EU. On the one hand, Turkey, alongside the U.S., is the closest and the most relevant third actor in the post-Soviet region for the EU. On the other, Ankara often does its own thing without coordination with Brussels. The crisis of the EU neighborhood policy both in the East and South makes a search for options and strategies in the EU’s approach to both regions indispensable.