Türkiye is a longstanding U.S. ally and occupies a critical geopolitical space between Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. Yet, under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the country has grown less democratic and pushed a foreign policy that often exasperates Washington. Türkiye’s coming elections on May 14 present an opportune moment for the United States to assess its options and approach to Türkiye with clear eyes about the country’s domestic politics, its national interests, and America’s own.
Join the Director of the Carnegie Endowment’s American Statecraft Program, Chris Chivvis, for a discussion with Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and James Jeffrey about Washington’s strategic alternatives in its relations with Ankara.
We are delighted to offer this event as the first in a new series, Pivotal States, which examines America’s alternative foreign policy approaches to the world’s key nations.
Ambassador James F. Jeffrey joined the Wilson Center in December 2020 as Chair of the Middle East Program. Ambassador Jeffrey served as the Secretary’s Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS until November 8, 2020. He is a senior American diplomat with experience in political, security, and energy issues in the Middle East, Turkey, Germany, and the Balkans.
Christopher S. Chivvis is the director of the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş is a visiting fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings, as well as a Global Opinions columnist at The Washington Post and a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).