![]() This process will ensure that over the long term, Turkey does not fall into a purely transactional relationship with Europe in which Ankara is viewed as a buffer against Middle Eastern spillover. Turkey should ensure that its cooperation with the European Union to address the refugee crisis is linked to the revitalization of the negotiations for Turkey’s accession to the European Union by opening new chapters, especially Chapters 23 and 24.Today, Turkey must avoid being dragged into a sectarian standoff in Syria and the wider region. ![]() This successful period of Turkey’s policy was based on the principles of mediation, humanitarianism, and the promotion of economic and cultural interdependence. Ankara should reset its Syria policy by combining its unavoidable status as a buffer state with the proactive and constructive foreign policy it adopted from 2002 to 2010. Rather, it should find ways to proactively shape outcomes to the south that extend beyond support for Sunni rebels and that are not in tension with the goals of its Western allies. The West’s approach has relied on Turkey to contain the spillover effects of the crises in Syria and Iraq, but this approach is fraying.The Turkish government should take four steps to help improve its response: ![]() But Turkey faces its own domestic and foreign challenges, which undermine its ability to respond to the turmoil. Western leaders-most crucially in Washington, D.C., and Ankara-should not think of Turkey as a buffer state used simply to manage the spillover from Syria and Iraq but rather as a proactive partner in any effort to address the root causes of these crises. It is affected by the security and economic fallout of the current regional instability and will be a pivotal actor in any effective responses to the two crises. Only Turkey has a place at the heart of both crises. While the European Union has focused on addressing the symptoms of the refugee crisis, the war against IS is driven by the United States, Russia, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf states, which are less affected by the refugee crisis. ![]() Yet while the crises interact and have similar root causes, they are driven by different actors with different intentions. Both the refugee crisis and IS have emerged from failed states, particularly Syria and Iraq, and are exacerbated by geopolitical power games, a lack of hegemonic leadership in the region, sectarianism, and the absence of inclusive and rules-based institutions of good governance. The most recent additions to this litany include the dire refugee problem and the brutality of the Islamic State, or IS. Since then, the West has been gripped by multiple crises of globalization, manifested in myriad security, economic, humanitarian, and environmental challenges. More than two decades ago, Zbigniew Brzezinski alerted the world to a “global turmoil” steadily eroding the West’s ability to respond to major global challenges. ![]()
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