Turkey’s Neighborhood: A New Strategic Landscape?
Vol. 12 No. 3 - Fall 2013

Turkey's Neighborhood: A New Strategic Landscape?, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
In this issue of Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ), we examine topical developments in the Caucasus, Central Eurasia, and the Middle East to draw the contours of the emerging strategic configuration in Turkey’s neighborhood. As key countries in...

• Nigâr Göksel

Interview with Irakli Alasania: The Defense of Georgia, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
In this exclusive interview with the editor-in-chief of TPQ, Georgia’s Defense Minister relates Georgia’s vision of Euro-Atlantic integration and outlines the strategy of the current government for overcoming challenges stemming from...

• Irakli Alasania

Security and Peace, at Home and in the World: Building Bridges, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
Today’s security challenges are more complex than ever before and no longer have any regard for national boundaries. They therefore require a global response. As a relatively small country, the Netherlands depends on alliances for its security....

• Frans Timmermans

Eastern Mediterranean Natural Gas: Potential for Historic Breakthroughs Among Israel, Turkey, and Cyprus, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
Recent large-scale discoveries of natural gas in Israel and Cyprus could help reshape the geopolitical trajectory of the Eastern Mediterranean, a region that is emerging with its own strategic identity at the confluence of the Middle East, North...

• Matthew J. Bryza

The Game-Changers in World Energy: Geopolitical Implications, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
The forward march of globalization has paused since the financial crisis, giving way to a more conditional, interventionist, and nationalist model of development. The geopolitical scene is strongly affected by factors related to this trend –...

• Mehmet Öğütçü

The Rise and Fall of the “Turkish Model” in the Arab World, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
After the AKP gained power in 2002, Turkey’s newly assertive “zero problems with neighbors” foreign policy strategy sparked debate in the Arab Middle East. This grand strategy revealed Ankara’s ambitions as not only a regional...

• Jean-Loup Samaan

France and Turkey: Between Democracy and Secularism, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
In France, even though debates about Islam sometimes risk bordering racism, religious minorities are aware that secularism remains their best protection. In Turkey, the choice of secularism cannot simply be summed up as a confrontation between...

• Caroline Fourest

Strategic Autonomy in Central Asia: What Turkey Can Learn from India’s “Connect Central Asia” Policy, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
Despite its NATO membership and relationship with the United States, Turkey has embarked on strategic policy of deepening its ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This article analyzes the possible outcomes for Turkish policy in Central...

• Micha'el Tanchum

Friends and Foes of a United States-Iran Nuclear Agreement, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
The recent U.S.-Iran nuclear deal, though still preliminary, might lead to a reshaping of Gulf geopolitics. Both have much at stake: the U.S. would achieve a major non-proliferation success, Iran would get respite from sanctions and enjoy...

• Riccardo Alcaro

A Caution Against Framing Syria as an Assad-Opposition Dichotomy, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
The Western media, think tanks, and policy community routinely portray the Syrian conflict as a dichotomy of the Assad regime and the opposition. Yet, this has never been the case on the ground. The conflict has been –and still is, primarily...

• Philip Gamaghelyan

Pragmatism and Rivalry: The Nature of Turkey-Iran Relations, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
This article examines the recent developments in Turkey-Iran relations. Over the last decade there has been an obvious rapprochement between the two countries. Ideological rivalry gave way to pragmatism, especially obvious in economic cooperation....

• Şafak Baş

Can Turkey De-Isolate Abkhazia?, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
Ever since Russia recognized Abkhazia as an independent state after the Five-Day War of 2008, Abkhazia has gained nation-building momentum. Although Turkey does not recognize Abkhazia’s independence, there are high levels of communication and...

• Eric R. Eissler

FES Project Overview: Envisioning a Secure and Independent Afghanistan Post-2014, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
The future of Afghanistan and the future of its region are interdependent. A secure Afghanistan is crucial to establishing a secure region. In turn, Afghanistan’s direct and regional neighbors have a responsibility to support its transition...

• Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

TPQ Seminar Review:Women’s Rights and LGBT Freedoms in Turkey – Progressing or Regressing?, Fall 2013Thursday, December 5, 2013
On 6 November 2013, Turkish Policy Quarterly (TPQ) held a seminar to debate the trends in women’s and LGBT individuals’ rights in Turkey with a wide range of activists, decision makers, and journalists. This event, which was made possible...

• Zeynep Alemdar