Southeast Europe Publications
A Brave New World in Turkish Politics
Jul 07, 2011November 2002 - There are moments in life when a development that one does not find particularly desirable may generate a great sense of relief and even elation. Once a struggle is over, the side effects of its outcome may be seen and appreciated as the harbinger of a new and hopefully auspicious beginning. more
Turkey, The US, and Cooperation For Transformation in the New Black Sea Region
Jul 07, 2011May 2007 - This paper was commissioned as part of the project on "Reshaping US - Turkey Relations," an 18-month project, headed by Public Policy Scholar Dr. Ian O. Lesser. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Southeast Europe Project or the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. more
The Growing Influence of Brussels on Turkish Policy
Jul 07, 2011Jan./Feb. 2002 - The vision of a united Europe that began with the European Coal and Steel Community in 1957 inched closer to reality at the European Union Laeken summit when the EU declared on December 15, 2001, that "the unification of Europe is near." more
Balkan Triangle: Greece, Turkey, and Regional Security
Jul 07, 2011Jan./Feb. 2001 - As the two most strategically important Balkan countries, Greece and Turkey have important roles to play in promoting security, reconstruction, and international integration throughout Southeastern Europe. While Athens and Ankara maintain serious, long-term disputes over Cyprus and the Aegean, the "Central Balkan" region provides a valuable opportunity for cooperation and complementarity that can increase the influence and prestige of both states while enhancing their bilateral relations. more
Euro-Islam v. "Eurabia": Defining the Muslim Presence in Europe
Jul 07, 2011April 2008 - (This article was written as part of Dr. Merdjanova's research at the Wilson Center and published at Religion Dispatches.) In the cacophony of voices in the European public square in the wake of the Fitna controversy, two broader lines can be discerned. While the protagonists of interreligious and intercultural toleration—in both secular and church-related circles—constitute a clear majority, the message sent by Wilders has not fallen on deaf ears. more
The Case For Ending Greece's Ban on Private Universities
Jul 07, 2011September 2003 - For over a century, American colleges and universities, many originating in the 19th century as Protestant seminaries, have operated on a private, non-profit basis in the Mediterranean region. Today, they form the nucleus of the American Association of International Colleges and Universities (AAICU) and have, over the years, added an important dimension to relations between host countries and the United States. more
Debalkanizing the Balkans with the Kantian Theory of Democratic Peace
Jul 07, 2011This study focuses on the post-communist Balkans and juxtaposes the positions of what its authors call the “recidivist” and “transitionist” schools of thought. The thesis of the recidivists is that war is a deep characteristic of the Balkans and is destined to recur in the future. The transitionists, on the contrary, posit that war is a product of economic, political and social underdevelopment rather than being specific to particular geographic regions or cultures. Siding with the cautiously optimistic approach of the transitionists, the authors of this study employ a variation of Bruce Russett’s Kantian peace theory and attempt to apply it to the post-communist Balkans. more
