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52. Building Moderate Muslim Networks
- Author:
- Angel Rabasa, Cheryl Benar, Lowell H. Schwartz, and Peter Sickle
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Radical and dogmatic interpretations of Islam have gained ground in recent years in many Muslim societies. Aside from a willingness to resort to violence to compel fellow Muslims to conform to their religious and political views, radicals enjoy two critical advantages over moderate and liberal Muslims. The first is money. Saudi funding for the export of the Wahhabi version of Islam over the last three decades has had the effect, whether intended or not, of promoting the growth of religious extremism throughout the Muslim world. The radicals' second advantage is organization. Radical groups have developed extensive networks over the years, which are themselves embedded in a dense net of international relationships. In this report we describe, first, how network building was actually done during the Cold War—how the United States identified and supported partners and how it attempted to avoid endangering them. Second, we analyze the similarities and the differences between the Cold War environment and today's struggle with radical Islamism and how these similarities and differences affect U.S. efforts to build networks today. Third, we examine current U.S. strategies and programs of engagement with the Muslim world. Finally, informed by the efforts of the Cold War and previous RAND work on the ideological tendencies in the Muslim world, we develop a "road map" for the construction of moderate Muslim networks and institutions. A key finding of this report—which one of our reviewers notes is particularly important—is that the U.S. government and its allies need, but thus far have failed, to develop clear criteria for partnerships with authentic moderates. The net result, already visible, is the discouragement of truly moderate Muslims.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Cold War, and Islam
- Political Geography:
- United States
53. Syria's Relations with Iraq
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Syrian diplomacy, crowned last November by the re-establishment of bilateral relations and in January by the first state visit of an Iraqi president to Syria in nearly 30 years, seeks to promote Damascus's strategic interests amidst Iraq's continuing violence. Syria initially favored the "managed chaos" that characterized Iraq in the several months following the U.S. invasion because it kept U.S. troops "pinned down" and therefore unlikely to invade Syria. However, the past year's dramatic escalation in sectarian violence, coupled with fears of Iraq's potential disintegration, has impelled Syria to seek greater stability in Iraq. In particular, Damascus has signaled its displeasure with Iraqi Kurdish autonomy, which has emboldened Syria's Kurdish population, estimated at 1.7 million.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and Syria
54. Learning Strategic Depth: Implications of Turkey's New Foreign Policy Doctrine
- Author:
- Joshua W. Walker
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Turkey stands at the threshold of all major trends within its neighborhood and is actively seeking to harness the assets that its geography and historical experiences afford it. As a staunch ally of the United States which has traditionally privileged its "strategic partnership," Turkey's global role has shifted from being a Western geo-strategic military deterrent to an exemplary model of a Muslim-majority, secular, and democratic nation. This article offers an introduction to Turkey's new foreign policy doctrine known as "strategic depth" and then seeks to examine its implications for Turkey's emerging role in Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and Central Asia. In the following sections, this article will outline how Turkey is beginning to realize its full potential as a versatile multiregional and increasingly powerful international actor.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, Central Asia, Turkey, and Middle East
55. The Future of Turkey's Westernization: A Security Perspective
- Author:
- Tarik Oguzlu
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- This article argues that Turkey's relations with the Western international community, namely the European Union and the United States, have been going through difficult times over the last couple of years mainly owing to the growing divergences between the security understandings of the parties concerned. Despite the fact that internal factors, such as the ongoing power struggle among domestic actors, have a good deal of explanatory power, the emerging security environment in Turkey's neighborhood, particularly in Iraq, and its impacts on Turkey's internal security have recently become more important in bringing into existence a skeptical Turkish attitude towards the West in general and the westernization process in particular. The changing Western security understanding in the post 9/11 era on the one hand and the growing Western demands that Turkey adopt this understanding should she aspire to become a legitimate part of the West on the other have growingly led the establishment elites in Turkey to challenge the legitimacy of the decades-long westernization/Europeanization process from a security perspective.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- United States and Turkey
56. The Politics of Incirlik Air Base
- Author:
- Selin M. Bolme
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- The adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, doubled with the highly criticized US policy towards the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has placed the İncirlik Air Base at the top of the Turkish political agenda. The İncirlik Air Base has always played a key role in the Turkish-US relations due to its strategic location in the region. The base has been used by the U.S. in many regional events and operations. In every case, its use has brought the status and functions of İncirlik to the fore. However, it is difficult to find any research that particularly focuses on the İncirlik Air Base and its history. Hence, there are many speculations on the status and the functions of the base. The purpose of this article is briefly trace the history of the İncirlik Air Base and describe the obligations of Turkey and the rights of the US under the existing agreements. In the final part, the last crises will be analyzed to assess its impact on Turkish-American relations.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States, Turkey, and Armenia