Turkey

There has been speculation about where Turkey is heading ever since the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002. The early years suggested to most observers that Turkey was heading West, as the AKP lobbied hard for membership in the European Union, and pushed the liberal-democratic

Over the past two months, Turkey has experienced a spike in terrorist attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), resulting in more than fifty deaths. The increased violence -- coming after a relative lull in such attacks -- has touched raw nerves among the population. As a result, the issue

U.S. President Barack Obama last week partly blamed the European Union for supposedly driving Turkey away from the West by stalling the country's EU accession. Mr. Obama is confusing cause and effect. The real problem is that the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) doesn't share the dream of

At home, the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, has promoted the Islamist mindset of "us Muslims" in conflict with "the bad others" through the media and also by spreading Hamas' views throughout Turkey, whether through official Hamas visits to Turkey or through AKP-supported conferences and fundraisers. Recent changes in

On June 18, 2010, Michael Eisenstadt, Soner Cagaptay, David Makovsky, and Robert Satloff addressed a special Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute. Mr. Eisenstadt is director of the Institute's Military and Security Studies Program. Dr. Cagaptay is director of the Institute's Turkish Research Program. Mr. Makovsky is the Institute's

Ever since the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) assumed power in 2002, Turkish foreign policy has made a 180-degree turn. The country's once-strong ties with the United States and Israel have been weakened, and entry talks with the European Union have stalled while Ankara has come to the defense

Something has been lost in the heated discussion surrounding the Gaza "freedom flotilla" incident -- namely, an assessment of what actually happened before and during the Israeli operation. Dissecting the incident's serious consequences is important, as is debating alternative Israeli options or questions of international law. But responding intelligently to

Visiting the White House six months ago, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara aspires to build a "model partnership" with Washington. Really? Erodgan has been leading the chorus to condemn Israel in the wake of Monday's botched interdiction of the flotilla bound for Gaza described the killings of

The recent resignation of Deniz Baykal, leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), over an alleged sex tape scandal presents a serendipitous window of opportunity for Turkish politics. Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP), rooted in the country's Islamist movement, came to power in 2002, Turkish politics