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Commentary

Turkey's Changing Role in the World

As Turkey increases its regional and global influence, its internal political challenges may limit Ankara’s ability to achieve its global ambitions even as its new foreign policy focus could affect Turkey’s relations with the United States and the European Union.

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By Henri J. Barkey and Kemal Kirişci
Published on Jun 25, 2010

What are the implications of Turkey’s ambitions to increase its regional and global influence? In particular, what is the impact on U.S.-Turkey relations? How have Turkey’s long-term interest vis-à-vis the European Union changed now that it appears to be ‘cozying up’ with the Arab world and Iran? How might Turkey’s internal political challenges impact its global ambitions? Henri Barkey and Kemal Kirişci discuss how Turkey's changing foreign policy might affect its relations with the West.

About the Authors

Henri J. Barkey

Former Visiting Scholar, Middle East Program

Barkey served as a member of the U.S. State Department Policy Planning Staff, working primarily on issues related to the Middle East, the Eastern Mediterranean, and intelligence from 1998 to 2000.

Kemal Kirişci

Kemal Kirişci is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, with an expertise in Turkish foreign policy and migration studies.

Authors

Henri J. Barkey
Former Visiting Scholar, Middle East Program
Henri J. Barkey
Kemal Kirişci

Kemal Kirişci is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, with an expertise in Turkish foreign policy and migration studies.

Middle EastTürkiye

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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