Turkey's New Geopolitics: From the Balkans to Western China (RAND Studies)

With The Astonishing Transformations In The Geopolitics Of The World Since The Collapse Of The Soviet Union, Turkey Has Been Profoundly Affected By The Changes On Its Periphery. For The First Time Since The Beginning Of The Century, A Turkic World Has Blossomed, Giving Turkey Potential New Foreign Policy Clout From The Balkans Across The Caucasus And Into Central Asia And Western China. These Geopolitical Opportunities Have Dramatically Changed The Character Of Turkey Itself, Once An Isolationist, Eurocentered Nato Ally. At The Same Time, Turkey Has Undergone An Internal Evolution Over The Last Decade, Making It An Attractive Model Of Middle Eastern Development Because Of Its Increasingly Free Market, Democratic Governance, And Secularist Outlook. This Book Explores The Character Of The New Turkey, Assessing Its Foreign Policy Options And Interpreting The Significance Of Those Choices For The Middle East, Central Asia, Europe, And The United States. Foreword / Morton Abramowitz -- Turkey : Toward The Twenty-first Century / Paul B. Henze -- Turkey's New Eastern Orientation / Graham E. Fuller -- Bridge Or Barrier? Turkey And The West After The Cold War / Ian O. Lesser -- Turkey : Back To The Balkans? / J.f. Brown -- Conclusions : The Growing Role Of Turkey In The World / Graham E. Fuller. Graham E. Fuller And Ian O. Lesser ; With Paul B. Henze And J.f. Brown. A Rand Study. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Foreword Preface 1 Turkey: Toward the Twenty-First Century Social, Economic, and Political Trends New Challenges and Opportunities Notes 2 Turkey's New Eastern Orientation The Impact of Turkey's Domestic Change on Its Foreign Policy Turkey and the Arabs Turkey and Iran Turkey and Central Asia Turkey and the Caucasus Turkey and Russia Conclusion Notes 3 Bridge or Barrier? Turkey and the West After the Cold War Bridge or Barrier Between East and West? Turkey and Europe The Security Dimension Turkey and the United States Overall Observations and Conclusions Implications and Recommendations for U.S. Policy Notes 4 Turkey: Back to the Balkans? After World War II Balkan Instability Muslim Flashpoints in the Balkans The Turkish Response Pressure on Turkey The Black Sea Project: A Peaceful Initiative Notes 5 Conclusions: The Growing Role of Turkey in the World How Does Turkey Matter to the United States? The Turkish Domestic Debate Turkey's National Interests Turkey, Europe, NATO, and the United States Notes About the Book About the Authors Index With the astonishing transformations in the geopolitics of the world since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Turkey has been profoundly affected by the changes on its periphery. For the first time since the beginning of the century, a Turkic world has blossomed, giving Turkey potential new foreign policy clout from the Balkans across the Caucasus and into Central Asia and Western China. These geopolitical opportunities have dramatically changed the character of Turkey itself, once an isolationist, Eurocentered NATO ally. At the same time, Turkey has undergone an internal evolution over the last decade, making it an attractive model of Middle Eastern development because of its increasingly free market, democratic governance, and secularist outlook. This book explores the character of the new Turkey, assessing its foreign policy options and interpreting the significance of those choices for the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe, and the United States. Publisher description