Understanding Turkey’s Foreign Policy in Times of Transformations

Panel 1: Turkey and the West

Speakers

• Evren Balta, Professor of International Relations at Ozyegin University Faculty of Social Sciences and a Senior Scholar at Istanbul Policy Center
• Ian Lesser, Vice President and Executive Director, The German Marshall Fund of the United States

Chair

• Valeria Talbot, Co-head MENA Centre and Senior Research Fellow, ISPI

Panel 2: Turkey and the Middle East

Speakers

• Galip Dalay, CATS Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) ; Non-resident fellow, Brookings Doha Center (BDC); Associate fellow, Chatham House
• Dorothée Schmid, Senior Research Fellow, Head of Turkey and Middle East Program, IFRI

Chair

• Kadri Tastan, GMF-TOBB Senior Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States

In times of transformation, Turkey’s ambitious foreign policy has been particularly active at the international and regional level. Over the years, the diversification of external relations has been a major feature of a multidimensional foreign policy in which the United States and the European Union no longer occupy the central place. While Turkey and its traditional Western allies share crucial geostrategic, security, and economic interests, bilateral ties have gone through different phases and experienced setbacks. In parallel, the Middle East and the Mediterranean have become privileged areas of interest and action for Turkey, turning it into a crucial player in the main regional crises. How is Turkish foreign policy adapting to the evolving global system and the changing regional order? What are the implications of Turkey’s evolving foreign policy on its relations with the United States and the EU? How to redefine constructive ties with Washington and Brussels? What role can Turkey play in the solution of crises in the MENA region?