Turkey

Turkey's economic near-meltdown last week — its second financial crisis in three months — was precipitated by political problems, not by narrowly economic issues. Until the political problems are addressed, the prospects for any new economic package will be questionable. With Turkish leaders and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) both

If passed, a non-binding resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives calling upon the U.S. government to recognize the "Armenian genocide" as historical fact will sour U.S.-Turkish relations at a time when bilateral ties are more vulnerable than they have been for years and when Turkish support for U.S. policies

Last week, a seemingly arcane argument produced a political crisis in Turkey that set back, at least temporarily, the government's longstanding anti-Islamist campaign. What began as a dispute over constitutional interpretation of presidential powers embittered relations between the nation's two top officials-President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit-to

Leaders of Turkey's governing coalition meet tomorrow seeking agreement on a presidential candidate who can muster a parliamentary majority and replace Suleyman Demirel when his term expires May 16. Mainly at stake for Turkey in the upcoming presidential selection process is the survivability and effectiveness of the Ecevit government and

The recent crackdown on "Turkish Hizbullah" has led to turmoil among Turkey's Islamists. Rather than provoking widespread fears of increased terrorism, the unveiling of a Hizbullah threat has created a context for another confrontation between the Turkish army and Turkey's legal pro-Islamist party, Fazilet. This clash has cast a political

The European Unions (EU) naming of Turkey as a full-fledged candidate for membership is of historic significance. The first-ever Muslim-majority candidate, Turkey differs significantly from current EU member-states not only in religion, but also in culture, history, and the wide range of regional security threats it faces. U.S. diplomacy was

On December 2, 1999, Antony Blinken, special assistant to the president and senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council, delivered The Washington Institute's Third Annual Turgut Ozal Memorial Lecture. The following are excerpts from his presentation. Read a full transcript. "What seems an obvious point today was

President Clinton's trip to Turkey for the November 18-19 OSCE summit will be historic for U.S.-Turkish relations. The November 15-17 bilateral portion of the trip (perhaps now in doubt following another shocking earthquake in Turkey today) will mark only the third visit by a U.S. president to Turkey and the

On September 28, 1999, Bulent Ecevit, prime minister of the Republic of Turkey, addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. The following are excerpts from his remarks during the question-and-answer session that followed his speech. Read a full transcript of the speech itself. On Discussions with President Bill Clinton concerning