Turkey's Vision for 2012 and Beyond: Davutoglu's Washington Visit
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's visit to Washington this week came at a pivotal juncture of bilateral and international affairs. Dr. Davutoğlu was enthusiastically welcomed by an audience in Washington eager to engage on a host of topics including Turkey's new foreign policy vision, the Arab Awakenings, nuclear Iran, Palestinian-Israeli conflict and most pertinently the Syrian uprising. The visit, considered as a great success by most commentators, revealed the paradox of Turkey: A global aspirant with a bold new vision for global governance in the post-Cold War era yet internally driven with questions about a new constitution, its Kurdish population, and freedom of expression. Furthermore among Washington policy circles the visit served to reinforce a quietly circulating critique that Turkey's leadership has crossed the line of self-confidence in bilateral and international relations.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Truman National Security Project or Educational Institute.
