The win by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's party in the referendum on constitutional changes could improve Turkish democracy, says CFR's Steven A. Cook, but fuels concerns about whether it augurs a more religiously oriented political environment.

Turkey's rise as a regional and economic power with its own set of interests, along with anger toward Israel about the Gaza flotilla incident, explains much of the chilling in Turkey's relationships with Israel and the United States, says CFR's Steven Cook.

Turkey's recent diplomatic strains with the United States and Israel reflect the "more assertive and self-confident" posture of a country looking to reestablish its role as a major influence in the Middle East and Central Asia, says expert F. Stephen Larrabee.

New strains in the Israeli-Turkish relationship stem from Turkey's concerns over conditions in Gaza and sloppy diplomacy on both sides, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

As Turkey builds up its circle of friends, including those that have fallen out of favor with the West, the International Crisis Group's Hugh Pope says Ankara's influence as a regional and global actor has Washington taking notice.

Ahmet Davutoglu, the chief foreign policy aide to Turkey's prime minister, says he fears recent optimism on Iraq in the United States overlooks significant, dangerous problems which remain unresolved.

Turkey's highest court decided not to ban the country's ruling party. CFR's Steven A. Cook says the decision saves the Turkish government but does little to heal mosque-state tensions.

Steven A. Cook, an expert on Turkey, says the sweeping victory of the Justice and Development Party in parliamentary elections has proven “beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can have democracy in a Muslim-majority country.”

A week away from crucial parliamentary elections in Turkey, relations between the United States and Turkey are severely strained. CFR Fellow Steven A. Cook says a recent major poll shows that “in Turkey, a NATO country firmly allied with the United States over the last fifty years, only 9 percent of Turks have a favorable view of the United States.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

The U.S.-Turkey relationship has become increasingly important as a result of the continuing violence in Syria and ongoing debate over Iran's nuclear program. In this crucial time, the two countries have an opportunity to work together to help shape the Middle East, including the challenges of ensuring the stability of Iraq, containing Iranian nuclear ambitions, and putting an end to the Assad regime in Syria.

The fast-emerging split between Turkey and Iran has revived a centuries-old rivalry between the Ottomans and the Persians.

Joshua Walker writes in Foreign Policy that the unprecedented levels and inter-linkages of the protests against the traditional authoritarian regimes represented most starkly by President Mubarak, has brought the Middle East back to a period more reminiscent of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Arab nationalism than anything seen in recent memory.

This Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review article by Sevil Küçükkoşum examines talk of increasing economic integration between Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan that has prompted visions of a new “Middle East Union” to rival the EU.