ABSTRACT
Turkey is not one of the great powers of the twentieth century. Its geopolitical location, however, has enabled it to play a potentially higher role in world politics than would have been otherwise possible. It holds the key not only to the Turkish Straits but lies along the roads from the Balkans to the Middle East and from the Caucasus to the Persian Gulf. It is a member of the biggest surviving military bloc and of most European organizations, as well as an associate member of the European Union. Its political involvement and exposed position assign it an importance hardly matched by any other medium power. Accordingly, the correct evaluation of this country’s policies is of crucial importance. Furthermore, as one of the small number of non-Western societies successfully struggling to modernize both country and people, together with the aim of evolving workable parliamentary democracy, Turkey has long seemed to offer lessons and insights into an important political process.
