Where Should the EU End?

The question is not whether the EU will again be ready to expand; it is where the EU ought to end.

In retrospect, the historic European Union expansion of May 2004 carries more than a hint of irony. The accession of eight former communist nations of Central Europe was in many ways a high point for Europe. The EU monitored these countries' transition towards liberal democracy; it influenced their political culture and guided economic transformation.

It wasn't a miracle, as one might mistakenly believe from listening to the European vulgate. But it is safe to say that the EU accompanied a remarkable development. When viewed alongside the quagmire that America was making for itself in Iraq at the time, enlargement became the epitome of Europe's power and of the scale of its ambitions.

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Posted by Lauren Keane on June 15, 2009 11:32 AM

Revisiting the Cyprus Problem

To the average American, Cyprus is a nondescript island in the Mediterranean - or perhaps an ancient parchment used in the times of the Pharaohs. But to practitioners of international conflict management, it presents one of the world's most puzzling and intractable conflicts.

Last week I joined the SAIS Conflict Management department on a research trip to Cyprus to examine the roots of the conflict and the current positions of the two sides, with an aim toward providing constructive recommendations for progress towards a settlement. We came away with the impression that ordinary Cypriots today in fact want integration - but their politicians lack the political will to push for compromise.

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Posted by Lauren Keane on January 27, 2009 3:22 PM

Turkey's Offer to Mediate Iran/US Conflicts

Could Turkey help mediate longstanding U.S./Iran conflicts over Israel and Iran's nuclear ambitions? Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to try -- but the Obama administration may be less likely to give him a chance because of comments Erdogan made recently in Washington.

"Turkey wants to be the mediator between the new Obama administration and Iran, using its growing role in the Middle East to bridge the divide between East and West," Erdogan told the New York Times on November 9.

But on November 14 at the Brookings Institution, Erdogan suggested that Iran's desire for nuclear weapons was "normal for any country" and that countries with such weapons should consider getting rid of them -- a position at odds with both Turkish and NATO policy and unlikely to convince the Obama administration that Erdogan would be a useful go between.

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Posted by Jodi Westrick on November 26, 2008 12:35 PM

Turkey's Task: Dismantling Nuclear Iran

Turkey's recent election to the UN Security Council for a two-year term is--for the rising regional power--both a gesture and a request from the international community. As a result of the vote, Turkey is charged with the task of negotiating the Council's primary agenda: the Iranian nuclear program.

A certain test to Turkey's diplomatic prowess, it must work to maintain productive negotiations as an intermediary between Iran and western countries.while simultaneously receiving pressure from the United States to vote for the expansion of sanctions. Despite the difficulty of the task, Turkey may well provide the best avenue to a solution in this escalating international crisis.

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Posted by Lauren Keane on October 24, 2008 2:13 PM

Turks to EU: Never Mind

While Turkey's ruling AK Party is still committed to full accession to the European Union, Turkish citizens are becoming less interested in joining the club. Together with the growing anti-Turkish accession feelings from both the citizens and the leadership of current EU member states, it is looking less and less likely that Turkey will ever become a member of the EU.

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Posted by Lauren Keane on October 21, 2008 5:00 PM

Turkey's Free Press? Not Free Yet

How is Turkey doing these days? It depends on who you ask. The United States has been positioning Turkey as a model for being the most democratic country in the Middle East; on the other hand, the European Union has been questioning freedom of the press and human rights in Turkey, as part of Turkey's the country's EU accession negotiations. Recent events suggest the EU's concerns about press freedom are legitimate. The most dramatic case is the wrangle between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Aydin Dogan, who owns almost half of the media organizations in Turkey.

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Posted by Lauren Keane on October 8, 2008 2:49 PM