Erdoğan’s Turkey: A Step Closer to the Orient

Despite Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s charisma as a politician, he has failed to promote stability in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East due to his maximalist ideas. Erdoğan’s negligent decision-making in foreign affairs is leading Turkey away from the West and closer to the instability of the Orient.

Erdoğan Exploits the Temple Mount Crisis to Foment Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism

Turkey continues to insert itself more and more into the ongoing clashes on the Temple Mount, almost as if it legally represents the Palestinians in the dispute. Turkey's anti-Israel agitation, which garners wide support among Palestinians in both Gaza and the PA, is hardly new. But its patronage of the Palestinians hides more than religious sentiment. Turkish anti-Zionism, which aligns directly with anti-Semitism, is being expressed once again through the current friction.

Erdoğan’s Mission Impossible: Sustainable Turkish-Arab Solidarity

Burak Bekdil
July 20, 2017
Paper No. 535

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who firmly believes it is religion that should shape national friendships and enmities, has tried singlehandedly to inject love for the Arab into Turkish society. The desire to accomplish this has implications for Turkish foreign policy. Erdoğan’s grand design has crashed not only into the Arab Spring but also into Middle East realism. The Saudi-led Gulf siege of Qatar came as a complete shock: one Sunni brother had taken out the sword against another.

The Turkish-Israeli Reconciliation: A Balance Sheet

The Turkish-Israeli reconciliation – while raising legitimate moral questions – yielded terms very much in Israel’s favor, compared to where things stood recently. Legal threats have been averted, Turkish pressure over the siege of Gaza has been lifted, and the prospects for full Israeli participation in NATO activities are significantly brighter.

Turkey – America’s Unacknowledged Problem

Turkey is formally a NATO ally. But Erdogan-led Turkey has not behaved as an ally or a friend of the US for years. It is a mystery why the Obama Administration refuses to acknowledge this.

Erdogan Is in Trouble

The Turkish Prime Minister is facing unprecedented political pressure that might precipitate the end of his rule.

Analysts: Improvement in Relations With Ankara Unlikely

Coverage in The Jerusalem Post of the BESA Center's conference "Turkey - Whereto?" on Wednesday, July 10, 2013.

Turkey – Whereto?

A conference exploring the changing domestic and international politics in Turkey. Wednesday, July 10 at 2:00 pm.

Obama’s Best Friend? The Alarming Evolution of US-Turkish Relations

Shifts in Turkey’s domestic political orientation have led to a change in Ankara’s perceptions of its foreign policy roles and capabilities. The US has misunderstood and largely ignored this shift, failing to understand the implications of Turkey’s transformation under the AKP. A strong and comprehensive policy towards Turkey is long overdue.

Israel’s Apology to Turkey: A Mistake

Israel’s apology to Turkey is a diplomatic mistake that only enhances Turkish ambitions and weakens Israel’s deterrence.