North Africa and the Middle East

Available for over a year

Allan Little charts the re-emergence of Turkey as a powerful global force In the second programme of the series Allan delves further into the emerging international influence of Turkey, looking across North Africa and the Middle East. The AKP promoted itself as a model of how a party which has roots in political Islam could govern a democracy and create a dynamic economy. The turmoil of the Arab Spring, the fallout from the Taksim Square demonstrations and, most recently, the ousting of Egypt's Islamist government have now challenged what many saw as an optimistic vision. In recent years Turkey had turned away from ever closer alliances with Israel and the United States towards greater involvement with its Arab neighbours, something that has been greeted with suspicion as well as enthusiasm linked to the legacy of Turkey's Ottoman past. How will this new policy develop in a fast-changing region? Producer: Jane Beresford.