This year marks the centenary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. To reflect on this occasion, assess current realities, and discuss Turkey’s future, the Middle East Institute’s Turkish Studies Program is pleased to announce its 12th Annual Turkey Conference, which will be convened on Dec. 6, 2023, at the historical National Press Building, in downtown Washington, D.C. We look forward to hosting you for a full day of insightful and timely conversations on how Turkey’s identity has changed in the last 100 years, the health of the country’s democracy, the evolving direction of Ankara’s foreign and regional policies, and its relationship with the United States.
Conference Agenda
9:30am EST | Registration Opens
10:00am – 11:30am EST | Panel I: Reassessing Turkey’s National Identity: A Century of Change
Jenny White
Professor, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Stockholm University
Ali Yaycioglu
Professor, Department of History, Stanford University
Kemal Kirisci (moderator)
Non-resident Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings Institution
11:30am – 12:30pm EST | Lunch
12:30pm – 1:30pm EST | Panel II: Turkey’s Political Trajectory: Ideology, Authoritarianism, and Democracy
Mustafa Akyol
Senior Fellow, Islam and Modernity, Cato Institute
Gulseren Onanc
Founder and President, SES Equality and Solidarity Foundation
Can Candan
Documentarian, Faculty Member, Bogazici University
Michael Harris
Founder, Cribstone Strategic Macro
Gönül Tol (moderator)
Director, Turkey Studies Program, Middle East Institute
1:30pm – 1:45pm EST | Coffee break
1:45pm – 3:15pm EST | Panel III: Between East and West: Turkish Foreign Policy 100 Years On
Evren Balta
Professor, Department of Political Science, Ozyegin University
Safak Gokturk
Retired Turkish Ambassador
Soli Ozel
Senior Lecturer, Department of International Relations, Kadir Has University
Alan Makovsky
Senior fellow for National Security and International Policy, American Progress
Alper Coşkun (moderator)
Senior Fellow, Europe Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace