Turkey Faces East: New Orientations Toward the Middle East and the Old Soviet Union

The Soviet collapse having prompted Turkey to undergo "a dramatic shift away from its traditional Atatürk-style isolationism," Fuller tries in brief compass to figure out what this means for Turkey, its region, and (in a limited way) for the United States.

In general, he finds trends worrisome. He sees the Turkey-Iraq-Iran triangle taking on "a much more ominous character in the decades ahead" and worries that the emergence of an independent Azerbaijan republic "seems destined to increase conflict between Turkey and Iran, regardless of what either country does." Looking within Turkey itself, Fuller notes the major changes in Ankara's treatment of the Kurdish problem in the past two years and raises the possibility that Turks may be preparing for the eventual emergence of a Kurdish state-consoled by the thought that such a state would most likely fall under Turkish influence.

As in his other writings (for reviews, see ORBIS, Spring 1992 and Summer 1993), Fuller brings a clarity of vision and knowledge of detail to his work. When added to his common sense and transparent presentation, these qualities always render his geo-political studies important.

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