Turkey’s Relations with a Changing Arab World - Conflict & Intl. Politics

In the past years, Turkey has strengthened its political ties to its Arab neighbors, and economic and cultural interaction is growing. Arab actors are also increasingly calling for Turkey to assume a role in promoting stability in the region and acting as a mediator in its prevailing conflicts. At the same time, opinions and approaches still diverge over a number of issues, such as the exploitation of shared water resources and relations with Israel.

This expert conference hosted jointly by the Carnegie Middle East Center, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, and the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) explored the dynamics of growing relations between Turkey and the Arab countries of the Middle East, as well as their regional implications. It brought together Arab, Turkish, and international experts and policy-makers in order to stir a debate and exchange expertise. A poll was presented by TESEV helped to gain a clearer picture of how the Arab publics in different countries perceive the increased engagement of Turkey in the region. The panels that followed shed light on thematic issues that are central to current Turkish-Arab relations and invited both speakers and audience to critically review mutual perceptions and potential misconceptions.

Topics addressed were:

• Perceptions of Turkey in the region;     
• The role of cultural ties, economic integration,
  and regional energy policies;
• and Turkey’s policies with regard to the recent
  Arab revolts.

The conference concluded with a discussion of the consequences of growing Turkish influence in the Middle East.

The conference aimed at providing a platform for
debate that will be followed-up with publications and further events. The initiative
as a whole is designed to increase common reflection on policies that are
relevant to the populations of both Turkey and the Arab world, to inform both
decision-makers and a broader audience on regional policies, and also
potentially to provide recommendations on how to best approach the changing
dynamics of the Middle East.