Challenges of Triangular Relations: The US, the EU, and Turkish Accession
The US government became deeply involved in European Union (EU)–Turkey relations from the mid-1990s and has provided extensive diplomatic support for full Turkish membership in the EU since then. Washington's strategic considerations have been paramount in the US government's approach to Turkey's full integration into the EU. The US policy on this issue has played a constructive role in Turkish–US relations. However, it has also created strains in transatlantic ties, since the pressure the US has put on the EU has angered many European officials, who resent what they view as interference in the EU's internal affairs. The US has become more sensitive to the complaints voiced by European leaders and EU officials, and it has adopted a more subtle approach to the issue of Turkish membership. While Washington continues to support Turkey's European integration, it has also recognised that the accession process is likely to be lengthy.
The Future of Turkish-Western Relations: Toward a Strategic Plan
Abstract : At the dawn of a new century, Turkish-Western relations have also entered a new era. Recent years have seen enormous changes within Turkish society. Turkish foreign policy horizons have expanded, and the country has developed a more active and sovereignty-conscious approach to nearby regions and relations with allies. Europe too has changed. With the Helsinki Summit decisions, the European Union (EU) has moved from a decidedly ambivalent stance to a more integrationist approach in its relations with Turkey. NATO-a key institutional link for Turkey in the West-is changing in ways that heighten Turkey's value to the Alliance. At the same time, the EU is developing foreign and defense policy initiatives in which Ankara's role remains uncertain. For the United States, Turkey's geopolitical importance is clear, but a predictable strategic relationship remains elusive, largely because Ankara and Washington have yet to develop a truly common agenda for relations in the post-Cold War world. Against this background, this report explores the changing parameters of Turkish-Western relations and offers an agenda for closer strategic cooperation in the U.S.-Turkish-European triangle.
Arab Uprisings and the Outstanding Return to Democracy: Tunisia as a Model
In the wake of the Middle Eastern crises, the Tunisian case in focus has been doted as a unique phenomenon being that it was the Genesis of the revolution that ultimately spread across the Middle East like wild fire, but has eventually heralded a new dawn as democracy has incidentally returned to the Empire. This literature therefore looks closely at the extent to which the ‘DignityRevolution’ has been instrumental in the Middle East uprisings, which have brought an end to dynastic autocracies. The literature zeros in on the Tunisian uprising which has attracted global concerns, sympathy and has sparked interests in the international arena. The literature finds that the people hold colossal prospect in the uprising and its resultant effect, as it paved the way for the revolutionist to generate, gather and disseminate information on the condition of the entire region to the international community. The people in this context were of utmost importance and played a very crucial role in the creation of awareness, mobilization of protesters and utmost determining the direction of the uprising and also ensuring a speedy return to democratic rule. The paper submits that the role of the people in ensuring that the ruins of the uprising is not left littering around and democracy restored is highly commendable and should be a model for all other Arab countries involved in the revolution.