Arab Unrest Threatens Turkey?s Newfound Influence
Iran and Turkey after Egypt: time for regional realignments?
U.S.-Europe Analysis (The Brookings Institution) Number 51, April 19, 2011
By Ruth Hanau Santini * and Emiliano Alessandri **
Both Iran and Turkey have a major stake in how the political landscape in North Africa and the Middle East is reshaped in the months ahead. Tehran and Ankara have developed their own separate narratives on regional events that take credit for providing the political inspiration for the Arab uprisings. Simultaneously, they have aimed to reinterpret reality on the ground to deflect attention away from their own domestic problems. While regional uprisings (with the possible exception of a resurgence of Kurdish separatism) do not necessarily threaten the stability of the Turkish state, Iran is experiencing its own waves of protests.
Turkey striving to be among ?new axis? in Mideast
Haaretz (Israel) 04.05.11 Türkçe
By Zvi Bar?el
Turkey, which aspires to be the top mediator between ?the east and the west? and between the Arabs and themselves, suddenly finds that its circle of friends has grown.
EU?Turkey accession negotiations: the state of play and the role of the new Turkish foreign policy (WP)
Real Instituto Elcano de Estudios Internacionales y Estratégicos (Spain)
Working Paper 8/2011, 4/4/2011
Mahir Ilgaz * and İlke Toygür **
Turkey?s EU accession negotiations completed their fifth year on 3 October 2010. However, despite annual declarations on the Turkish side that each new year would be ?the year of the EU?, negotiations seem to be progressing very slowly and the prospects for their timely completion look dim. In fact, with 18 chapters out of the picture due to a variety of obstacles and the blocking of the provisional closure of any chapters until Turkey fulfils its obligations deriving from the Additional Agreement, the situation looks grim indeed.
Steven A. Cook: From the Potomac to the Euphrates » Blog Archive » Arab Spring, Turkish Fall on ForeignPolicy.com
?Turkey belongs in the EU!?
Qantara.de (Germany) 02.08.2010
Eren Güvercin, Interview with Ruprecht Polenz *
Chairman of the German Bundestag?s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ruprecht Polenz, argues in favour of Turkish accession to the EU, and grapples with negative western perceptions of the nation, as well as of Islam. He spoke to Eren Güvercin
Turkey?s neighborhood troubles
Los Angeles Times (USA) May 4, 2011
By Henri J. Barkey *
It is time for Ankara to support the Arab Spring in Syria and beyond. Syrian President Bashar Assad is in deep trouble. His murderous use of deadly force against his own citizens, reportedly killing hundreds, has not quelled the growing defiance to his regime. Images from Syria tell gruesome stories of snipers and security forces shooting unarmed demonstrators. About 200 members of his Baath Party have resigned in protest.
Unrest around the Arab world endangers Turkey?s newfound influence
The New York Times (USA) May 4, 2011
By Anthony Shadid, Beirut, Lebanon *
Turkey faces a growing challenge from the tumult sweeping the Arab world to its booming economic stake in the region, newfound political influence and longstanding policy of permitting no problems to fester along its borders.