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Abstract

Following the end of the Cold War, a steady stream of books by academic and think-tank specialists has turned the spotlight onto Turkey’s actual or potential role as a rising regional power.1 Of the three neighbouring regions with which Turkish policy is engaged, the Middle East is easily the most complex and problematic. Since the end of the civil war in former Yugoslavia, Turkey’s relations with its European neighbours have been reasonably stable, although still troubled by the ongoing Cyprus dispute. To the north and east, the revival of Russian power has effectively frozen a series of local contests, with Turkey being little more than an onlooker. This leaves the Middle East as the world’s most persistent trouble spot, beset by inter-state rivalries as well as internal civil turmoil, in which Turkey has been quite deeply engaged.

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Notes

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© 2015 William Hale

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Hale, W. (2015). Reassessing Turkey’s Relationships with Its Neighbours. In: Michael, M.S. (eds) Reconciling Cultural and Political Identities in a Globalized World. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-49315-6_9

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