Interviews

As Finland and Sweden wait to join NATO, Turkey extracts concessions
Ankara is holding up expansion of the Western alliance, and the Biden administration may have to step in to get the deal done

Ankara’s ambitions
Turkey’s prime minister has led his country for nearly 18 years. Analysts credit Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the country’s dramatic economic growth during his first decade in office. But they also blame Erdogan for rolling back democratic freedoms. Last month, he threatened to expel ambassadors from 10 countries, including the United States, for taking a strong stance on a human rights case. As alliances shift in both the Middle East and Asia, Turkey is making its own geopolitical calculations.

Ankara Turns to Moscow: A Pivot in Turkish History
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Turkey's decision to risk a rupture with the United States -- and NATO -- in order to purchase the S-400 missile defense system represents a monumental departure from the country's contentious, centuries-old relationship with Russia. In this video, Beyer Family Fellow Dr. Soner Cagaptay recounts Turkey's long history of conflict with its northern neighbor and explains the factors that may have led President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to break with the past.

Will Turkey's Purchase of Russian Missiles Rupture U.S. Ties?
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The purchase of a sophisticated S-400 missile defense system by NATO ally Turkey poses a challenge to U.S. law and upsets longstanding diplomatic practice. Soner Cagaptay, The Washington Institute's Beyer Family Fellow, breaks down the interconnected political and military factors that have led to this crisis in U.S.-Turkish relations and forecasts potential short-term consequences.

Turks Examine Their Muslim Devotion After Poll Says Faith Could Be Waning
NPR
Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Peter Kenyon of NPR discuss Erdogan's efforts to create "pious generation" that will "work for the construction of a new civilization," and the backlash it has generated among young people.