Turkey's Emerging Role in the Middle East

The Middle East Policy Council convened its 92nd Capitol Hill Conference on April 20. After recent US military action against targets of the Assad regime in Syria, the panelists for Turkey's Emerging Role in the Middle East explained Turkey's involvement in the conflict, the concept of "Ottoman Islamism" and what this means for US interests and the balance of power in the Middle East.

Former US Ambassador to Turkey W. Robert Pearson reviewed how Turkey's position in the international and regional order is evolving. Gonul Tol (Founding Director, Middle East Institute's Center for Turkish Studies) noted that Kurdish separatism and support for the Muslim Brotherhood are the two defining aspects of Turkey's foreign policy. Aaron Stein (Resident Senior Fellow, Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East, Atlantic Council) argued that the Turkish viewpoint has two components: it is security-focused nearby and transformative further afield. Lisel Hintz (Assistant Professor, International Relations, Johns Hopkins University, SAIS) analysed Turkey's foreign policy through the lens of Ottoman Islamism.