Turkey operates in a unique space between Europe and the Middle East and has dramatically expanded its influence in recent years throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. Understanding Turkey’s changing role in the region is critical to U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the wake of the Arab Spring. “The Perceptions of Turkey in the Middle East 2011” is a regional public opinion survey conducted in late 2011 in 16 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Including Egypt, Iran, Libya, Syria and Tunisia, the survey is the third annual poll of regional public opinion conducted by TESEV. The study sheds light on general trends in the region, perception of the Arab Spring and the region’s future, as well as the role of Turkey, including regional opinion of the protests of the last year in all countries, including Syria, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, and Iran; the role of international actors in the events of 2011; perspectives on security; and perceptions of the Turkish model and what makes Turkey valuable in the eyes of the region.
Please join the Center for American Progress and the TESEV Institute as we host a presentation and discussion of “The Perceptions of Turkey in the Middle East 2011”, a new study by the TESEV Institute on perceptions of Turkey by its Middle East neighbors on the Arab Spring, Iran, and Turkey.
Introductory Remarks:
Rudy deLeon, Senior VP for National Security and International Policy, Center for American Progress
Panelists:
Sabiha Senyücel Gündoğar, Director, TESEV Foreign Policy Program
Mensur Akgün, Director, Global Political Trends Center
Mustafa Akyol, Author, Islam without Extremes: a Muslim Case for Liberty
Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Moderator:
Michael Werz, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress