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.
Northern Syria Security Dynamics and the Refugee Crisis
Ensuring stability in northern Syria will require international engagement that balances humanitarian concerns with the moral hazard created by Turkey’s occupation.
Turkey’s pursuit of strategic autonomy should be met with firm transactionalism by the Biden administration, and while this stance is unlikely to change President Erdoğan’s unilateral approach, it could help preserve certain institutional ties.
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.
This interactive database features nearly 250 recommendations that the next administration can advance, adopt, and implement within the first 100 days to set the country on a path toward a more progressive national security approach.
the CAP National Security and International Policy Team
Turkey’s President Erdoğan Is Losing Ground at Home
Generational change and shifting attitudes in conservative Turkey could bring fragmentation of the dominant right-wing bloc and, potentially, a new political alignment—prospects that will continue to shape President Erdoğan’s actions at home and abroad.
Government censorship is rapidly reshaping how Turks get their news, with major implications for Turkish foreign policy, political polarization, and Erdoğan’s rule.
Turkish Conservatives’ Loyalty to Erdoğan and Views on Potential Successors
While President Erdoğan’s support is not boundless, no potential successor currently appears able to hold together the diverse conservative constituency that dominates Turkish politics.
President Trump’s withdrawal from Syria has thrown the region into chaos, shattered American credibility, and uncovered deep problems with U.S. policy toward Turkey.
The benefits of rapprochement between the Turkish government and Kurdish militants are clear, but hopes for an easing of tensions rest on shaky political ground.
