Ruling But Not Governing provides valuable insight into the political dynamics that perpetuate authoritarian regimes and offers novel ways to promote democratic change. In this new CFR book, author and Council Douglas Dillon Fellow Steven A. Cook highlights the critical role that the military plays in the stability of the Egyptian, Algerian, and, until recently, Turkish political systems.

Steven Cook discusses his new book, Ruling But Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey and how it applies to current developments in the region.

This commentary by Soner Cagaptay,  a senior fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute describes the current turmoil in Turkeyas the most significant political crisis in Turkeysince 1979-80 when the then parliament failed to elect a president and, amid tension on the streets, the military intervened. The paper discusses how the ongoing tensions will evolve.

The prospect of an Islamist president has launched heated national debate between Turkey’s traditionalist secular leaders and its moderate Islamists.

Morton I. Abramowitz, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey during the first Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991, says many Turkish “Secularists” fear that the government headed by the “Islamist” party of Prime Minister Erdogan may turn back the clock and introduce religion into public life.

Demands by Iraqi Kurds for greater autonomy have roiled their Turkish neighbors.

Steven A. Cook, a CFR expert on Turkey, says “the great underreported story” of the Iraq war is the serious deterioration in U.S.-Turkish relations. “It has already blown up,” says Cook.

Congressional Research Service report that provides information about the current perspectives and policies of Iraq’s neighbors; analyzes potential regional responses to continued insurgency, wider sectarian or ethnic violence, and long-term stabilization; discusses shared concerns and U.S. long-term regional interests; and reviews U.S. policy options for responding to various contingencies.

Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to a majority Muslim state, Turkey, on November 28. The trip’s original aim was to build ties with Christian Orthodox leaders but the pope’s recent comments on faith, reason, and Islam—as well as Turkey’s EU accession—are likely to resonate throughout.

Steven A. Cook, CFR’s leading expert on Turkey, says the country is so preoccupied with issues of European Union membership, continuing problems over divided Cyprus, and the Kurdish issues that the pending visit of Pope Benedict XVI has not aroused much interest.

A year into Ankara’s EU accession bid, the path to membership proves to be strewn with obstacles.

Terra Lawson-Remer argues that the International Finance Corporation (the member of the World Bank Group responsible for financing private-sector projects) can and should require inclusion of commitments regarding sustainable development and human rights in the legal covenants that often govern large private-sector investments.

Steven A. Cook says relations between the United States and Turkey are strained due to conflicting interests in Iraqi Kurdistan. Washington does not want to upset the relative stability in northern Iraq, whereas Turkey seeks to remove the threat of Kurdish militants in the region.

This 2006 report from the Washington Institute offers a comprehensive assessment of all completed, ongoing, and planned pipeline projects in the Black Sea littoral and beyond, covering output statistics, construction and maintenance costs, key political issues, and numerous other factors. It also outlines the domestic measures Turkey will need to pursue in order to take advantage of the pipelines transiting its territory.

Council Fellows Steven A. Cook and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall joined presider Marc Grossman, former ambassador to Turkey, in a presentation of a new Council Special Report. Underscoring the importance of the US-Turkey relationship, they expressed support for Turkey’s integration into the European Union, called for the resolution of the Cyprusissue, and suggested trilateral talks between Turkey, theU.S. and legitimate Kurdish-Iraqi leaders.

“The growing schism between the West and the Islamic world is one of the primary challenges confronting American foreign and defense policymakers. As a consequence, the relationship between the United States and Turkey—a Western-oriented, democratizing Muslim country—is strategically more important than ever,” asserts a new Special Report.