The Turkey Analyst

Vol. 3 no. 7, 12 April 2010

ANALYSIS

The Future of NATO's Nuclear Weapons on Turkish Soil
Richard Weitz
One reason why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to skip this week’s Nuclear Security Summit in Washington is that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made clear that he planned to raise the issue of Israel’s covert nuclear weapons program at the meeting. The Israeli government has long refused to confirm its possession of its widely suspected nuclear arsenal. One irony of this development is that Turkey itself is commonly recognized as having dozens of nuclear weapons stored on its territory. The most profitable non-proliferation tool in Turkey’s case would be to assure Turks that they will play an essential role in NATO’s security policies and that their preferences will have a major impact in shaping the alliance’s nuclear policies.

Lessons from the Turkish-Armenian Protocols
Joris Gjata
The Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process, formalized with the signing of two Protocols on October 10, 2009, does not seem to be going anywhere. The failure to materialize the promises of opening the border and establishing diplomatic relations has complex reasons and crucial implications. There are important lessons to be drawn from the mistakes in this process not only for the Western political leaders but most importantly for Turkish and Armenian foreign policy makers.

What the Columnists Say
The constitutional reform package that has been presented to parliament by the government remained the major topic of the Turkish debate. The general perception among the commentators is that the changes are designed to preempt a new attempt by the old state bureaucracy to close the ruling Justice and development party (AKP). Even many of those who don’t militantly oppose the AKP question if the changes augur the advent of a more liberal order. Some prominent liberals nevertheless wholeheartedly support the constitutional reform as a democratizing, albeit insufficiently, step. 

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NEW Silk Road Paper published

Between Fact and Fantasy: Turkey's Ergenekon Investigation, by Gareth H. Jenkins, August 2009.


The Turkey Analyst
The Turkey Analyst is a publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center, designed to bring authoritative analysis and news on the rapidly developing domestic and foreign policy issues in Turkey. It is published weekly, and includes a topical analysis, as well as translations and summaries of selected Turkish news reports. It is edited and compiled under the supervision of Svante E. Cornell, Halil M. Karaveli, and M. K. Kaya.

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The Joint Center
The Joint Center, created in 2005, is the product of the merger of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and the Silk Road Studies Program, at the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy.

The Turkey Initiative
The Joint Center launched a Turkey Initiative in 2006 in order to improve understand of Turkish domestic and foreign affairs in Europe and the United States.

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