There is little doubt Prime Minister Erdogan's AKP party will retain power in Turkey's June 12 elections. The focus will be on whether he uses his mandate to consolidate Turkish democracy under a new liberal constitution, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

Steven A. Cook argues that at a moment of unprecedented change in the Middle East, Turkey is falling far short of being a regional leader.

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.

Michael L. Baker discusses the seventh anniversary of the terrorist bombing in Istanbul.

Turkey's ruling party is sometimes criticized for being Islamist or ideological, but its policies remain essentially nationalist and commercially opportunistic.

President of the Republic of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, discusses the transforming relationship of Turkey with the United States, Europe, and the Middle East

President of the Republic of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, discusses the transforming relationship of Turkey with the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül discusses a wide-range of foreign policy matters including U.S.-Turkish relations, Middle East peace, Iran, and Afghanistan.

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.

In Reset, Stephen Kinzer argues that the United States should partner with Iran and Turkey to promote democracy and combat extremism in the Middle East. Although it is hard to imagine Iran as a friend of Washington, Turkey is ready to play that role.

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.

Stephen R. Sestanovich says the United States faces a unique challenge with Turkey, a major U.S. ally rooted in both domestic politics and clashing geopolitical aspirations.

Elliott Abrams argues, "President Obama makes the Middle East an even more dangerous place."

Walter Russell Mead says that Turkey and Brazil's rejection of UN sanctions against Iran revealed that neither country had mastered the challenges of operating in the international system.

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.

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.

Joe Conason examines the effect of Israel's Gaza policy on the strategic interests of Israel and the United States in the wake of the raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

Steven A. Cook says that after six decades of strategic cooperation, Turkey and the United States are becoming strategic competitors.

Turkey's role in the Organization of the Islamic Conference has been increasing consistently after the take-over of Justice and Development Party (JDP) in 2002. Simultaneously with Turkey's increasing role in the organization, OIC, which has functioned as a non-influential international actor until recent years, has now an important agenda due to the problems of the Islamic world and USA's "Greater Middle East Project."

The nuclear fuel-swap agreement announced in Tehran put the United States in a bind. Contrary to its sponsors' intentions, it will not improve confidence between the United States and Iran, writes CFR's Michael Levi.