Turkey: Will Protests at Home Affect Its Foreign Policy?

The antigovernment protests that erupted across Turkey last week may have serious domestic political consequences down the road, complicating Prime Minister Erdogan's efforts to prepare his party for local and presidential elections in 2014 and a potential redrafting of the constitution. But how might these difficulties affect Turkey's foreign policy? Will an embattled Erdogan manage regional issues with the same assertiveness that has characterized Turkish policy on Syria and Iran over the past several years? To discuss these questions and their implications for U.S. policy, The Washington Institute convened a Policy Forum discussion with James F. Jeffrey and Soner Cagaptay in Washington, DC, on June 13, 2013. Ambassador James F. Jeffrey is the Philip Solondz distinguished visiting fellow at The Washington Institute and former U.S. ambassador to Turkey (2008-2010) and Iraq (2010-2012). He also served as assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor in the George W. Bush administration. Soner Cagaptay, author of the forthcoming book "The Rise of Turkey: The Twenty-First Century's First Muslim Power," is the Beyer Family fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. For more on this event, go to: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/po... To preorder Dr. Cagaptay's book, "The Rise of Turkey," go to: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/po...