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GMF celebrates its 40 year history and Founder and Chairman, Dr. Guido Goldman at Gala Dinner May 09, 2013 / Washington, DCGMF held a celebratory gala dinner at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, Wednesday May 8.
In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Italian-Turkish Relations: Potential and Limits of a ‘Strategic Partnership’
November 29, 2011 / Emiliano Alessandri
Perceptions
This paper was orignally pubished in the Spring 2011 edition of Perceptions, a quarterly publication relesed by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Italy and Turkey have built over the decades a partnership based on economic cooperation, shared international concerns, and a common vision of Turkey’s future as a member of the European Union. Italian perceptions of Turkey, however, are negatively affected by anti- Muslim sentiments among the Italian public. Negative views about Turkey’s post-Kemalist establishment have become more widespread also among Italian elites in the context of the debate on Turkey’s ‘drift from the West’.
The “Arab Spring” of 2011, which has forced Ankara to appreciate the common challenges it faces in the MENA region together with the rest of the West, has partly assuaged concerns of a “de-alignment”, confirming that Turkey has specific ambitions but also broadly shares Western strategic assessments. While Rome remains committed to Turkey’s EU aspirations, the fading of the membership perspective since 2005 has led Italian governments to support the accession process mainly as way to further strengthen bilateral ties. The relationship, finally, is adjusting to new power realities. Turkey’s ascent at a time of economic and political difficulties in Italy and in the EU, raises questions of influence in areas of common presence. Ongoing strategic realignments in the MENA region present opportunities for Italian- Turkish cooperation, but also highlight areas of friction.
Emiliano Alessandri is a Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington DC.
