One of the most striking aspects of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit to Washington last week was the attention paid to Turkey’s increasingly active role in the Middle East. Several members of the Prime Minister’s delegation made a point to emphasize that Turkey’s growing commercial ties with its neighbors should be viewed as a positive development likely to contribute to regional stability, rather than as evidence of Turkey’s “eastward turn” or “neo-Ottomanism.”
It seems that the United States might learn a thing or two from the Turks about how to engage the political economic elements in the Middle East that want to integrate the region into the global economy.
To discuss how the United States can engage the rising Muslim middle class in the Middle East, the New America Foundation/American Strategy Program is hosting an event today featuring Vali Nasr, Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of law and Diplomacy of Tufts University and author of Forces of Fortune: The Rise of the New Muslim Middle Class and What It Will Mean for Our World.
New America Foundation/Iran Initiative Director Flynt Leverett will moderate the event, which will STREAM LIVE here at The Washington Note.
— Ben Katcher
