Next week’s NATO summit in Ankara will spotlight Turkey’s role in the alliance and the Turkish defense sector’s potential contributions to European security. Yet, Turkey-EU ties remain strained by a frozen accession process and deep distrust between the Erdoğan government and some member states.
To dig into the contradictions and opportunities of deeper Turkey-EU defense cooperation, Turkey recap editor Diego Cupolo spoke to Dimitar Bechev, director of the Dahrendorf Programme at St. Antony’s College’s European Studies Centre and author of the upcoming book, The Scramble for Europe, and a Substack by the same name.
This podcast covers how Turkey’s growing weapons manufacturing base and geographic leverage on the Black Sea naval balance has boosted Ankara’s role in regional security while improving Turkey-EU relations following years of tensions and democratic backsliding that continues today.
Referenced in this talk:
Scramble for Europe: Russia, China, and Turkey Challenging Regional Order (Oxford University Press)
Türkiye: Crackdown Ahead of NATO Summit (Human Rights Watch)
NATO’s Turkey Paradox (Modern War Institute)
Turkey does its own thing (International Crisis Group)
The Black Sea Has Become the Fulcrum of Europe’s Security (Carnegie)
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Diego Cupolo, Editor-in-chief
Emily Rice Johnson, Deputy editor
Yıldız Yazıcıoğlu, Parliament correspondent
Hilmi Hacaloğlu, Political correspondent
Gözde Ocak, Stüdyo recap editor
Demet Şöhret, Social media and content manager
