The Balkans region in southern Europe has been unsettled since the dismantling of Ottoman dominance there in the late nineteenth century. During the twentieth century, ethnic and sectarian tensions not infrequently brought war to the region, most recently during the 1990s amid the breakup of Yugoslavia. The United States played a significant role in bringing peace to Bosnia in 1995 and to Kosovo in 1999, but the region faces continued instability.
With widespread protests in Istanbul and a dozen other cities throughout Turkey, Steven A. Cook argues on the Washington Post that the European Union should reengage Turkey's stalled membership bid as a way to encourage Prime Minister Erdogan to implement democratic reforms at home.
The protests in Turkey are unlike those in Egypt and the Arab world, but they can only be defused by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says CFR's Steven Cook.
Steven A. Cook, CFR Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, and Henri Barkey, Cohen Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University, discuss the protests in Turkey and how they will affect Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule.
President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan held a joint press conference on May 16, 2013. They discussed trade, security commitments in NATO, and the situation in Syria.
In the wake of President Obama's brokered telephone apology between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, Charles Kupchan argues for new foundations to an Israeli-Turkish partnership.
Cyprus's last-minute bailout deal highlights the vulnerabilities in the island nation's financial system, as well as the flaws in the eurozone's ability to effectively respond to banking crises, says CFR's Robert E. Rubin.
Eurozone finance ministers gave this statement on March 25, 2013, upon reaching a deal to provide ten billion euros to prevent bankruptcy in the Cyprus's banking system.
The success of a surprise cease-fire between Turkey and PKK insurgents hinges on Ankara granting the Kurds greater autonomy and whether the militant group disarms, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.
George Papandreou interviewed by Christopher Alessi
The EU and IMF should loosen the austerity requirements of Greece's bailout package to allow the indebted country to implement needed growth-enhancing policies, says former prime minister George Papandreou.
Once fear reaches a critical mass, people will act, and then a bank run becomes a self-perpetuating process. There has been a lot of complacency about the eurozone crisis in the past eight months.
Though the results of Israel's recent election point to the creation of a new and potentially more conciliatory government, Steven A. Cook saystensions between Jerusalem and Ankara run too deeply for a single election to make much difference.
Benn Steil's column in Dow Jones' Financial News, co-authored with Dinah Walker, shows why last March's Greek debt restructuring left Greece in poor shape to avoid financial collapse
Somewhat overshadowed by his longtime ally, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President Abdullah Gul has begun to carve out a more independent, progressive path.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More
