Turkey and the New Middle East

Commentary (European Policy Centre) 27 July 2012

Gökhan Bacik *

“Will the Arab Spring bring democracy to the region?” is the reductionist question preventing observation of other serious developments in the Middle East that were triggered by the Arab Spring. Despite its limited contribution to democratisation, the Arab Spring has already changed the general tectonics of the Middle East. We face a new Middle East, where many of the dynamics and priorities have changed. However, there is no universal interpretation of the recent activism in the region. Each country has its own particular picture of the Arab Spring that may differ from that of other countries.

Asserting that the Arab Spring has seriously changed the political dynamics of the region, this commentary focuses on two issues to analyse how Turkey is being influenced by the new dynamic and priorities that were introduced by the Arab Spring.

* Gökhan Bacik is director of the Middle East Strategic Research Center at Zirve University, Turkey.

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