Thomas Weihe Book order

For the last couple of years, Turkish foreign policy has been guided by a double strategy of opening up the country towards both the EU and the Middle East. Which options does this strategy entail? Would a cooperation of Ankara and Brussels help solving the conflicts in the Middle East? At the 136th Bergedorf Round Table, senior politicians and diplomats as well as leading experts discussed Turkey’s possible role as arbiter and the implications for the EU’s Middle Eastern policy. The discussion addressed the historical background of Turkish foreign policy and the country’s expanding diplomatic initiatives in recent years. Why is it that this new approach is so fiercely contested at home? Would Ankara’s policy in the Middle East benefit from Turkish EU membership? What expectations do people from the region have for European-Turkish cooperation? What mechanisms are necessary to make this partnership a success? The participants also made concrete suggestions on how Turkey and the EU should tackle the burning issues in the Middle East, e. g. the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, Lebanon, and the Iranian nuclear file.

Is German foreign policy equipped to meet the challenges of the 21th century? What imperatives for foreign policy arise from Germany's national interests and its integration in the European Union? Also, What institutional structures does foreign policy require today in national and European contexts? At the 135th Bergedorf Round Table, senior politicians and leading analysts discussed the interests, partners, and possibilities of German foreign policy. The conference addressed fundamental questions regarding „German responsibility“ and the foreign policy consequences of Germany's „central position“ in Europe. the participants also delved into issues such as military deployments, whether foreign policy decisions reflect the will of the people, and calls for a German national security strategy. They explored Germany's relationships with its partners in the EU and NATO. Finally, the Round Table examined policy options for the EU's relations with Russia und Eastern Europe, its relations with Turkey and for challenges posed by the Middle East.

Stability in the Middle East is possible only if the United States and Europe work closely together with the region’s own representatives. At the 133rd Bergedorf Round Table, policy makers and experts from the Middle East, the USA, and EU member states analyzed the current situation and discussed options for political action. Some participants judged the intervention in Iraq positively, despite all its errors and associated perils. This “controlled earthquake,” they said, brought movement to the region’s political landscape after decades of stagnation. Others argued that the invasion turned Iraq into a magnet for international terrorism, and that ethnic and sectarian conflicts now threaten to destabilize the entire region. Regarding the Iranian nuclear program, the discussion focused on Iran’s internal dynamics and the role of the United States. On the issue of modernization, the conference revealed how far attitudes diverge over the relationship of state, religion, and ethnicity within the Islamic world. The Western side saw the region’s radicalization as both a fundamental obstacle to cooperation and the chief cause for the breakdown of security there. Participants from the Middle East accused the West of applying less stringent standards toward allied autocrats and being biased towards Israel. The Round Table identified ways of supporting reforms externally and developed policy approaches for the USA and the EU.

The interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq have fundamentally altered the balance of power in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the social, political, and economic challenges facing the region have continued to increase. The conflict over Iran’s nuclear program and the escalating violence in Iraq have lent a new urgency to the search for regional stability. Actors from within the Persian Gulf region hold a key to finding it. The 132nd Bergedorf Round Table in Dubai therefore placed its greatest emphasis on regional approaches. Politicians and analysts from the Gulf region, the United States, and Europe analyzed possible paths toward political stability in the Persian Gulf, with the roles of economic growth and political reforms, as well as the connection between democratization and stabilization placed at the center of the discussions. Participants explored the relationships between modernization and identity, secularism and religion, traditional and Western ideas, and reform and external assistance. One focus of the conference was on security policy challenges. Participants forcefully debated the U. S.-led intervention in Iraq and the role of regional and external actors such as the United States, Europe, India, and China. The Iranian government’s policies under President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian nuclear program were highlighted in particular detail.

Is the EU-Russian future one of strategic partnership or rivalry over influence, e. g. in Eastern Europe and Central Asia? Do the two sides share a foundation of common interests and values, or do fundamental differences exist that could pit the two against each other rather than bringing them closer? These were the questions facing analysts, policymakers, and business leaders from Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, and the United States at the 131st Bergedorf Round Table. Participants hotly debated the strategic options for EU-Russia relations, the future of the EU and the Russian Federation, and the question of whether Russia's future ties with EU member states would be bilateral in nature or channeled through Brussels. Disputes also came to light over evaluations of the „four common spaces“, the situation in the post-Soviet region, and policy towards Iran. The 131st Bergedorf Round Table is a document of two partners with frequently contrary standpoints seeking common ground, policy alternatives, and possibilities for future cooperation.