Turkish ground raids into Iraqi Kurdistan could undermine U.S. military efforts and further fragment Iraq’s federal government.

Advocating for greater Kurdish autonomy through violent resistance, the Kurdistan Workers Party remains a vibrant militant presence on the border of northern Iraq and southern Turkey.

CFR’s Steven A. Cook says recent Turkish military action in Iraq and a controversial U.S. congressional vote could undermine U.S.-Turkish relations at a critical time.

Turkey’s new president seeks to reinvigorate his country’s efforts to gain EU membership, but major rifts appear to outweigh limited signs of progress.

Watch Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discuss Turkey's recent elections and its foreign policy goals for the years ahead.

Listen to Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discuss Turkey's recent elections and its foreign policy goals for the years ahead.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister of Turkey, discusses Turkey's recent elections and the country's foreign policy goals for the year ahead.

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.”

Turkey’s parliamentary poll focused attention on rifts between secularists and moderate Islamists, not to mention the buildup of Turkish troops along Iraq’s border.

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.”

In a departure from its traditional foreign policy, Turkey is now becoming an important player in the Middle East. Turkey's growing concern over Kurdish nationalism has brought Ankara closer to the governments of Iran and Syria, which also contend with restive Kurds at home. Although troubling, this shift could be an opportunity for Washington and its allies to use Turkey as a bridge to the Middle East.

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.