Turkish Foreign Policy 5 Years after the July 15 Coup Attempt
Since the failed coup attempt on July 15th, 2016, Turkey’s foreign policy has changed dramatically. Turkey intervened militarily in multiple countries such as Syria and Libya to protect its security and geopolitical interests. Having proven to be a stabilizing actor in these countries and beyond, Turkey has also made major investments in its national defense. Turkey’s acquisition of air defense systems from Russia continues to be an issue in its relations with its Western allies in addition to disagreements over the Eastern Mediterranean and refugee issues. As a regional player with deep institutional ties with the West, how has the Turkish foreign policy evolved since the 2016 coup attempt? How has the Turkish public received these changes? What will the next few years hold for Turkey’s regional posture and its relations with the West?
The SETA Foundation at Washington DC is pleased to host a distinguished panel of experts to discuss the course and trajectory of Turkish foreign policy since the July 15th coup attempt.
Speakers
Michael Reynolds¸ Director of Princeton University’s Program in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, and Associate Professor in Princeton’s Department of Near Eastern Studies
Talip Küçükcan, Professor of Sociology at the Marmara University
Moderator
Kadir Üstün, Executive Director at the SETA Foundation at Washington, D.C.
Bios:
Michael A. Reynolds is associate professor of Near Eastern Studies. He is the author of Shattering Empires: The Clash and Collapse of the Ottoman and Russian Empires (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), co-winner of the American Historical Association’s George Louis Beer Prize, a Financial Times book of the summer, and a Choice outstanding title. His research areas include Ottoman and modern Middle Eastern history, Russian and Eurasian history, the Caucasus, international relations, empire, nationalism, Turkish foreign policy, and US foreign policy. He holds a BA in Government and Slavic Languages and Literature from Harvard University, an MA in Political Science from Columbia University, and PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University.
Talip Kucukcan is a Professor of Sociology at the Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. He was a Member of the Turkish Parliament between 2015 and 2018. Mr. Kucukcan was the Head of Turkish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe and a Member of Foreign Relations Committee. He graduated from Uludag University (1986) and received an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1990). He was among the founding team of Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) where he was first Coordinator of Social and Economic Research, then the Director of Foreign Policy Research. He served as the Editor in Chief of Insight Turkey, a policy journal published by SETA until 2015. He is appointed as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims for 2014 and 2015. Kucukcan is specialized in foreign relations with a focus on Middle Eastern affairs, Turkey-EU relations, transnational migration, international freedom of religion, security and Muslim minorities in Europe.
Kadir Ustun is Executive Director at the SETA Foundation at Washington, D.C. He holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies from Columbia University and a master’s degree in History from Bilkent University. Dr. Ustun taught courses on history, politics, culture, and art in the Islamic World as well as Western political thought at Columbia University and George Mason University. His research interests include civil-military relations, social and military modernization in the Middle East, US-Turkey relations, and Turkish foreign policy. His writings have appeared in Insight Turkey, Al Jazeera English, Sabah Daily, Hurriyet Daily News, Cairo Review of Global Affairs, Al-Monitor, Politico, Daily Sabah, Mediterranean Quarterly, and Middle East Policy. He is co-editor of edited volumes History, Politics and Foreign Policy in Turkey (2011), Change and Adaptation in Turkish Foreign Policy (2014), and Trump’s Jerusalem Move: Making Sense of US Policy on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2020).
