Alan Makovsky is a senior fellow for National Security and International Policy at American Progress. From 2001 to 2013, he served as a senior professional staff member on the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he covered the Middle East, Turkey, and other related issues.
At the Washington Institute for Near East Policy—a private think tank where he worked from 1994 to 2001—Makovsky wrote widely on various Middle Eastern and Turkish topics. He also founded and directed the Washington Institute’s Turkey Research Program.
At the State Department where he worked from 1983 to 1994—Makovsky variously covered southern European affairs and Middle Eastern affairs for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He also served as the political advisor to Operation Provide Comfort in 1992 and as the special advisor to the special Middle East coordinator from 1993 to 1994.
There may be some room for meaningful parliamentary action under the vastly expanded executive power of the new Turkish presidential system.
Turks will vote April 16 in a referendum on proposed constitutional amendments that would greatly enhance the power of the presidency and reinforce Turkey’s democratic decline.
The July 15 coup attempt was deeply traumatic for Turkey, but that does not justify President Erdoğan’s many disturbing postcoup actions.
Following its dominant electoral victory on November 1, the AKP government is likely to continue it efforts to enhance the reach of religious education in Turkey. This process could have a profound long-term impact on Turkish identity and stability.
Turkey’s efforts to secure reliable energy supplies have brought it closer to Russia, both a cause and a symptom of Ankara’s diminished solidarity with its Western allies.
