On The Issues: Turkey and Its Relations with Iraq
On the eve of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, relations among Turkey, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Regional Government have been dramatically transformed for the better.
Posted: May 27, 2010
In the Special Report, “Turkey’s New Engagement in Iraq,” author Henri Barkey, professor of international relations at Lehigh University, examines the change in relations and what led to the improvements, and argues why sustained attention is needed to prevent events from undermining the progress achieved to date. This essay is drawn from a forthcoming work on Iraq’s regional relations, co-edited by Barkey, USIP’s Scott Lasensky and Phebe Marr.
In this On the Issues, Barkey discusses reasons for the improved relations, and its significance for Iraq’s future and U.S. national security interests.
- In your Special Report, Turkey's “New Engagement in Iraq: Embracing Iraqi Kurdistan,” you argue that relations between Turkey, Iraq and Kurdistan's Regional Government (KRG) have improved dramatically. How did this transformation come about?
- What does this suggest about Turkey's own political stability and direction?
- What does a more cooperative Turkish-Iraqi relationship mean for U.S. interests---specifically, will it affect plans to draw down American military forces?
- You’ve helped to lead the Institute’s efforts to promote dialogue between Turkish and Iraqi foreign policy figures—and between Iraqis and their neighbors more broadly--what kind of lessons can you draw from those efforts on the ground?
- What might undermine this new entente between Turkey and Iraq?
- How could the U.S. - and Iraq and its neighbors - prevent deterioration, and help maintain improved relations in this region?
Turkey came to the realization that the KRG is here to stay and that, in fact, it is far more amenable to relations -- diplomatic and commercial -- with Turkey than anywhere else in the region. Improved relations with the KRG enables Ankara to have more say in what happens in Iraq and also helps reduce domestic tensions with its own Kurdish minority. The Turkish military also has come to understand that it will not vanquish the Kurdish insurgency in Turkey through violent means alone and a new approach was needed.