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Event Summary – What’s Next In Turkey and Why That Will Matter to the Next American President

On Friday, November 4th, American Friends of Bucerius partnered with American Council on Germany to hold a discussion with Ambassador James Jeffrey, the Philip Solondz Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute. The discussion was part of our Transatlantic Global Agenda series, hosted at Alston & Bird LLP, which examines globally significant issues through an international lens. Ambassador Jeffrey offered an explanation of Turkish politics, economics, and foreign relations in a talk titled “What’s Next in Turkey and Why That Will Matter to the Next American President.”

Ambassador Jeffrey outlined how much of Turkey’s fate is decided by its political leadership, which is currently led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. While Turkey certainly has its strengths, among which are a powerful military and a solid economy, there are threats and weaknesses that also endanger its safety. At the core of them is Erdoğan himself, whose goals for power do not allow for true Western ideals to take hold, even though much of the country carries those ideals. Thus while the principles of democracy are in place, there is little in the way of pluralism and tolerance in Turkey’s sociopolitical structure. This has bred a division within the nation – partly racial, between the Turks and the Kurds, and partly ideological, between conservatives and liberals.

There are tensions between the U.S and Turkey for a number of reasons, as well, not least of which is that Turkey has demanded the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, who leads a movement opposing Erdoğan’s political reign. But the biggest issue for the new American President will be the Iranian encroachment into more and more territories in the Middle East. Turkey will want the U.S to help act against the aggression, and our other allies will be watching to see how we deal with that situation.