The announcement by the Turkish military’s Chief of Staff and the top commanders of the land forces, navy, and air force of their early retirement represents the final stamp in the process of the military’s neutralization as a significant domestic political player. This process lies at the core of a silent revolution underway in Turkey since the ascent to power of the Justice and Development in late 2002, which eroded the status of the army, seen as the secular shield of Turkish politics, and cracked this and other aspects of...
The success by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in gaining more votes than in the previous elections, as well as the latest poll conducted by the Pew Institute charting the Turkish public’s optimism about the country’s future, indicates that the current elections were a vote of confidence in Erdoğan. The Turks trust he will be able to continue to promote Turkey’s economy, develop its infrastructures, and – to the displeasure of some but to the joy of many – allow a...
By the middle of 2010, Israel’s relations with Turkey reached an unprecedented low. The incident on May 31, 2010, when Israeli commandos overpowered opposition on board a Turkish ship attempting to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza, was just the tip of the iceberg.
The positive dynamics generated by Turkey’s assistance in combating the enormous forest fire on Mt. Carmel and the discussions in Geneva between Turkish and Israeli representatives raise again the issue of an Israeli apology to Turkey for the results of the forced takeover of the Mavi Marmara. On the one hand, the position represented by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman contends that not only is an apology to Turkey surrender to terrorism, but that in any case no gesture will rebuild the relationship. The opposing claim...
Israel viewed Turkey’s dispatch of firefighting planes to help put out the enormous forest fire on Mt. Carmel very positively. It brought about the first significant breakthrough toward mending the broken Israel-Turkey relations since flotilla affair this past May. Israel’s forced takeover of the Turkish Mavi Marmara led to a freeze in relations that were already tense, partly the result of Turkey’s response to Operation Cast Lead. The positive dynamics created by Turkish aid to Israel reflect a certain desire on...
Turkey’s National Security Council document, the 2010 “Red Book,” which maps the expected threats to Turkey in the coming years, includes a number of sections that are highly problematic for Israel. The document itself is classified, and therefore there are different versions regarding its content. Nevertheless, according to published information, Israel’s precedent-setting inclusion in the Red Book, and especially the claim that Israel’s policy is undermining the stability of the region, are additional evidence of the...
The results of the September 12, 2010 referendum in Turkey on constitutional reforms signal a continued stagnation in relations between Ankara and Israel. Although the referendum dealt with internal issues, the results reflect a general endorsement of the government’s policies in other areas, including foreign policy. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has spearheaded a global and regional policy based on his book Strategic Depth and aims to strengthen Turkey’s geo-political status in the region, primarily by tightening relations with...
In less than a month the prime ministers of Israel and Greece exchanged official visits; each visit was the first of its kind. It is hard to find a precedent for this proximity of visits in the annals of Israeli diplomacy.
In recent years Turkey has attempted to establish its foreign policy according to the doctrine of strategic depth suggested by Ahmet Davutoglu, former chief advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on foreign policy and today Turkey’s foreign minister. This policy emphasizes that the importance of a nation in the international system is measured by its geo-strategic location and by its historical depth. Davutoglu claims that from this vantage Turkey’s situation is unique because of its geographical location in a...
The agreement signed in Zurich on October 10, 2009 between Turkey and Armenia to establish diplomatic relations offers hope that some of the difficult problems in the southern Caucasus may soon be resolved. The two countries agreed in principle to open the border between them, closed since 1993 because of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a Turkish ally, resulting from the dispute over control of Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey chose then to close the border, and conditioned its reopening on a settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Turkey’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council by a considerable majority (151 out the 192 member states) reflects Turkey’s importance in the current international system. Among the members of the European group, Turkey was chosen alongside Austria after both overtook Iceland. The last time Turkey was elected to the Security Council was over 40 years ago, and it appears that the current choice also indicates international support for some of the diplomatic bridging activity that Turkey...
Turkish-American relations currently face two significant challenges. One has to do with the Turkish inclination to enter northern Iraq in order to deal with Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters operating there. The other is connected with an upcoming U.S. House of Representatives vote on a resolution to recognize as genocide the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Both challenges touch on very sensitive issues for the Turks, who are convinced that the U.S. is insufficiently attentive to their...
