Turkey?s Future Alignment; European, Atlanticist, or ?National? currents.

Turkey?s fallout with Washington in the wake of the 1 March 2003 National Assembly vote has yet to heal. Ankara remains concerned about the future of Iraqi Kurdistan, and frustrated with US ?inaction? in the face of an enhanced PKK threat to Turkey. Washington is suspicious of Turkey?s burgeoning regional friendships, notably with Syria, and the undercurrent of anti-Americanism in Turkey. Simultaneously, the commencement of EU accession talks simultaneously offers Turkey an alternative to over-reliance on the US, yet highlights the difficulties in Turkey?s European relationships and the obstacles to its bid. Turkey?s present government, nationalistic yet more comfortable with Turkey?s Islamic and Middle Eastern dimensions than its Kemalist predecessors, is showing signs of frustration with its western allies. This paper seeks to trace and assess the relative weight of these competing undercurrents in Turkish foreign and security policy thinking. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]