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.

Listen to Ahmet Davutoglu, minister of foreign affairs, Republic of Turkey, talk about the direction of his country's foreign policy.

Watch Ahmet Davutoglu, minister of foreign affairs, Republic of Turkey, talk about the direction of his country's foreign policy.

Ahmet Davutoglu, minister of foreign affairs, Republic of Turkey, talks about the direction of his country's foreign policy.

Watch experts analyze Turkey's regional relations and broader foreign policy goals including participation in Iranian nonproliferation talks and membership in the European Union.

Listen to experts analyze Turkey's regional relations and broader foreign policy goals including participation in Iranian nonproliferation talks and membership in the European Union.

Henri J. Barkey and Hugh Pope discuss the future of the fast-changing nation of Turkey, and the implications it holds for the rest of the world.

Watch Markos Kyprianou, Foreign Minister, Republic of Cyprus, discuss efforts in his country to forge a final resolution on the question of reunification.

Listen to Markos Kyprianou, Foreign Minister, Republic of Cyprus, discuss efforts in his country to forge a final resolution on the question of reunification.

A U.S. House panel's vote recognizing the 1915 deaths of ethnic Armenians as genocide could rupture U.S. ties with Ankara and set back Turkey's own effort to confront its past, writes CFR's Steven Cook.

The government's expanding investigation into an alleged Turkish military plot to seize power exposes the military's declining influence as democracy gains in the country, writes CFR's Steven Cook.