Alan Makovsky

Senior Fellow

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.

Latest

Compact View

Opportunities and Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean: Examining U.S. Interests and Regional Cooperation Testimony

Opportunities and Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean: Examining U.S. Interests and Regional Cooperation

Alan Makovsky, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, provided testimony on March 31, 2022, before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on the United States’ involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Alan Makovsky

The Turkish Diaspora in Europe Report
Members of the Turkish community stand in front of the Oberlandesgericht courthouse with a large Turkish flag, 2018, in Munich. (Getty/Andreas Gebert)

The Turkish Diaspora in Europe

Polling shows that members of Europe’s Turkish and Turkish-Kurdish diaspora value their separate identity; nevertheless, they welcome the opportunities and freedom of life in Europe, even in the face of lingering discrimination.

Max Hoffman, Alan Makovsky, Michael Werz

Turkey’s Changing Media Landscape Report
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answers the questions of press members after performing the Friday prayer at Hazreti Ali Mosque in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul, January 17, 2020. (Getty/Serhat Cagdas)

Turkey’s Changing Media Landscape

Government censorship is rapidly reshaping how Turks get their news, with major implications for Turkish foreign policy, political polarization, and Erdoğan’s rule.

Andrew O’Donohue, Max Hoffman, Alan Makovsky

Turkey’s Refugee Dilemma Report
Syrian refugee children draw in their notebooks in a refugee camp in Turkey, August 2017. (Getty/Diego Cupolo)

Turkey’s Refugee Dilemma

Despite Turkish leaders’ frequent insistence that Syrian refugees will return home, privately, they seem to be preparing for the likelihood that most will remain permanently.

Alan Makovsky

Turkey: Post-Election Human Rights and Strategies for Accountability In the News

Turkey: Post-Election Human Rights and Strategies for Accountability

American Progress Senior Fellow Alan Makovsky briefs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on the recent constitutional amendments passed in Turkey that changed the nation from a parliamentary system to a highly centralized presidential system.

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

Alan Makovsky

Turkey’s Parliament Report

Turkey’s Parliament

There may be some room for meaningful parliamentary action under the vastly expanded executive power of the new Turkish presidential system.

Alan Makovsky

Erdoğan’s Proposal for an Empowered Presidency Report
People walk in central Istanbul's Taksim Square, backdropped by a poster of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, March 14, 2017. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Erdoğan’s Proposal for an Empowered Presidency

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.

Alan Makovsky

Turkey After the July Coup Attempt Article
A pedestrian passes under a Turkish flag in Istanbul, August 14, 2016. (AP/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Turkey After the July Coup Attempt

The July 15 coup attempt was deeply traumatic for Turkey, but that does not justify President Erdoğan’s many disturbing postcoup actions.

Alan Makovsky

Re-Educating Turkey Report
Students sit in the cafeteria of Fatih University in Istanbul, Turkey, October 2, 2015. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Re-Educating Turkey

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.

Alan Makovsky

Turkey’s Growing Energy Ties with Moscow Report
A gas pipeline worker checks valves on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, January 2009. (AP/Selcan Hacaoglu)

Turkey’s Growing Energy Ties with Moscow

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.

Alan Makovsky

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