Although traces of a greater Middle Eastern identity go back to the early 1990s, recent events and policy discussions on the Greater Middle East that view the region as having a discrete political as well as geographic identity have gained prominence in political circles and in academic analysis. Since the September 11 attacks to the U.S., the only country that promoted both security and freedom at home in the Greater Middle East region has been Turkey. Turkey is clearly on track to EU membership both in societal and state levels. Thanks to its dual European and Middle Eastern identities and its political and social modernization and its democratic standards, Turkey is strategically important to both U.S. and European interests in many respects and is therefore a natural key to any plan or concept that aims to promote democracy and raise living standards in this region. With its ability to reconcile democracy and Islam and as well as democracy and security, Turkey is the best candidate to suggest and help initiate internal mechanisms for positive change in the Greater Middle East.

Bülent Aras,

Turkey and the Greater Middle East,

Istanbul
TASAM Publications, 2004,

176 pages, ISBN 975-6285-00-1