Publications Archive
The Obama Visit and After: Changing Style and Substance in U.S.-Turkish Relations April 14, 2009 / Ian Lesser
The visit of U.S. president, Barack Obama, to Turkey so early in his administration is significant. Just as significant is the fact that the visit came as part of high-profile European tour. Key topics on the bilateral agenda may have been Middle Eastern or Eurasian, but the policy dialogue in Ankara and Istanbul was a dialogue with a transatlantic partner.
Obama's visit managed to dispel some of the pervasive suspicion in U.S.-Turkish relations-no small accomplisment. Much remains to be done, both bilaterally and in a transatlantic setting, to give these public diplomacy gains strategic meaning.



