The Council on Foreign Relations has convened an Independent Task Force on Turkey, co-chaired by Madeleine K. Albright, former secretary of state, and Stephen J. Hadley, former national security adviser.

In its analysis, the Task Force is considering a broad range of issues related to Turkish domestic politics, the country’s economic development, ongoing geopolitical changes in Turkey’s neighborhood, Turkey’s foreign policy, and Washington’s present approach to Ankara. It will aim to produce a consensus report that offers guidance to policymakers and others on the U.S.-Turkish bilateral relationship, Turkey’s role within NATO, its relations in the Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere, and Turkey’s place in the global economy, among other important issues.

Steven A. Cook, CFR’s Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, serves as the project’s director. The Task Force was launched in May 2011, and the group aims to produce a report in spring 2012.

Since September 11, 2001, U.S.-Middle East policy has sought to promote reform in the Arab and Islamic World as a U.S. national security priority. This roundtable series sheds light on the complex issues that the countries of the Middle East present and explores the different avenues available to U.S. policymakers seeking to promote change in that region. By drawing on the experience of a variety of speakers with particular expertise on social, political, and economic reform, women's issues, education, and the media, this roundtable series intends to enrich the current debate on reform promotion in the Arab world with a range of top-tier perspectives and policy recommendations in an informal discussion setting.

This forthcoming report will focus on Washington's policy toward Syria. The Syrian regime believes it plays a pivotal role in the region and is seeking to capitalize on its influence in several major arenas: Iraq, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine, and Iran. This CSR will develop a set of policy recommendations for an effective strategy toward Damascus and prescribe an incentive-based approach to secure its cooperation in these areas.

This Study Group is organized around chapters of Steven Cook’s recently completed book manuscript titled: Ruling, But Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Turkey, and Algeria. Historically, Egypt, Turkey, and Algeria have exhibited a fairly predictable and similar set of political patterns which reflected the stability of authoritarian politics in these countries. In late 1990s and early 21st century, Turkey was able to break the political logjam of authoritarianism. What accounts for regime stability in Egypt, Algeria, and previously Turkey? Why was Turkey successful and Egypt and Algeria not successful? This book is intended to combine a scholarly approach to interesting questions concerning regime stability, Islamist political activity, civil-military relations, and transitions to and from democracy; yet it also contains a conscious policy edge that is relevant to current debates about democracy in the Arab and wider Muslim world.

The Study Group is made possible by the generous support from the Kauffman Foundation.