The conflict in Gaza has disrupted the delicate power dynamics in the Middle East.
Despite intense diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire, a political solution has yet to be reached, and the risk of a broader regional conflict persists. Against this precarious background, what are the challenges Türkiye faces in the region and how can it effectively navigate through them? Bringing together experts and practitioners, this panel examines Türkiye’s past and future role in the Middle East through current dynamics.
Speakers will address the following questions:
• How have regional dynamics and alliances changed in the Middle East since the start of the conflict in Gaza?
• What have been the main features of Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East in the past decades and how are these policies changing?
• How is Türkiye’s military engagement and defence strategy shaping its role in regional conflicts?
Meet our speakers and chair
Dimitar Bechev (@DimitarBechev) is a lecturer in Russian and East European Studies at Oxford University, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe and the Director of the Dahrendorf Programme on Europe in a Changing World at St Antony's College, Oxford. He was previously a senior fellow at the Centre for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies at UNC Chapel Hill (2016-2020) and at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He has held visiting fellowships at Harvard, LSE, and Hitotsubashi University. His research focuses on Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, and Russian foreign policy. His books include Turkey under Erdogan (2022), Rival Power (2017), and more.
Sir John Jenkins (@JohnJen96660941) is a former British diplomat with a 35-year career, serving as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and Burma, and as Consul-General in Jerusalem. He led the UK's 2014 Muslim Brotherhood Review and was Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the FCO. Jenkins has worked in Kuwait, the UAE, and Malaysia, and served as Ambassador to Libya during the 2011 revolution. From 2015 to 2018, he was IISS Director (Middle East) in Bahrain. He is now a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange and a Consultant at Cambridge University’s Centre for Geopolitics.
Ziya Meral (@Ziya_Meral) is a Lecturer in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, focusing on global trends in defense, security, climate risk, Turkish foreign policy, and the Middle East. He is a Senior Associate Fellow at RUSI, a Visiting Fellow at the Royal Navy's Strategic Studies Centre, and co-founder of the Climate Change and (In)Security Project. A media commentator, he has been featured on BBC, Al Jazeera, and MSNBC. He authored How Violence Shapes Religion (2018) and two Turkish-language books.
Selin Nasi (@selinnasi) a Visiting Fellow at the European Institute of the London School of Economics, specializing in Turkey-Israel relations and the Middle East. She is also the London representative of the Ankara Policy Center- a Turkey-based think tank. Previously, she worked as a regular foreign policy columnist and published in various print and online media outlets in Turkey including Politikyol, Anka Review, Yetkin Report, Hurriyet Daily News, and Şalom newspaper.
Yaprak Gürsoy (@ygursoy) is Professor of European Politics and Chair in Contemporary Turkish Studies at LSE. She has worked on Turkish politics, democratization and regime consolidation. She is the author of Between Military Rule and Democracy: Regime Consolidation in Greece, Turkey, and Beyond.
More about this event
Contemporary Turkish Studies focuses on the politics and economy of Türkiye and its relations with the rest of Europe. The programme aims to promote a deeper understanding of contemporary Türkiye through interdisciplinary and critical research, teaching and related public activities.
The British Institute at Ankara (BIAA) was founded in 1947 and incorporated in the 1956 cultural agreement between the Republic of Türkiye and the United Kingdom. It is internationally renowned for conducting world-class research in Türkiye and the Black Sea region in the humanities and social sciences.
Hashtag for this event: #LSETürkiye
Podcast & Video
You can download the podcast of this event, watch the video online or read the summary transcript of the event. For access to podcasts and videos from other CTS events, visit the past event pages.