The AKP's foreign policy

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The Debate on Turkey in the West is sharply divided between those who see Turkey moving away from the West and toward a more Middle Eastern and Islamic orientation and those who see Ankara's improved ties with Iran as a natural progression toward balance and diversification - and a potential boon for Turkey's US and NATO partners. American critics have seen these deepening divergences on regional issues as proof by Turkey's ruling party, AKP, of distancing the nation from its traditional close allies, the US and Israel. The author examines the question whether the new Turkish foreign policy leads to geopolitical rivalry with the United States in the Middle East. Does Turkey strive to overcome the Cold War order and the dependence on US foreign policy? Is the West „losing“ Turkey? A crucial factor here has been the determination by some neoconservatives to present Turkey's independent foreign policy as directed against US interests.