Despite strains on Turkey’s relations with its Western interlocutors and growing concerns over its reliability as a NATO ally, Turkey specialist and author Kemal Kirişci argues that domestic and regional realities are now edging Turkey toward improving its relations with the U.S. and Europe. Moreover, he will share the book’s policy recommendations aimed at improving the current state of affairs.

About the speaker
Kemal Kirişci is the TÜSİAD (Turkish Industry and Business Association) Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on the United States and Europe's Turkey Project at Brookings, with an expertise in Turkish foreign policy and migration studies.His book “Turkey and the West: Faultlines in a Troubled Alliance” has just been published by the Brookings Institution Press (see more at www.brookings.edu…).

Before joining Brookings, Kirişci was a professor of international relations and held the Jean Monnet chair in European integration in the department of political science and international relations at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. His areas of research interest include EU-Turkish relations, U.S.-Turkish relations, Turkish foreign and trade policies, European integration, immigration issues, ethnic conflicts, and refugee movements.

His recent publications include "Not likely to go home: Syrian refugees and the challenges to Turkey—and the international community" (Brookings, September 2015), "Retracing the Caucasian Circle: Considerations and constraints for U.S., EU, and Turkish engagement in the South Caucasus" (Brookings, July 2015), "Syrian Refugees and Turkey’s Challenges: Going Beyond Hospitality" (Brookings, May 2014), and “TTIP and Turkey: The Geopolitical Dimension” in "The Geopolitics of TTIP:  Repositioning the Transatlantic Relationship for a Changing World," Daniel S. Hamilton, ed. (Washington, D.C. Center for Transatlantic Relations, 2014; distributed by Brookings Institution Press).

Kemal Kirişci is the author of several books on Turkey including "Turkey and Its Neighbors: Foreign Relations in Transition" (co-authored with R. Linden et al; Lynne Reinner, 2011), "Land of Diverse Migrations: Challenges of Emigration and Immigration in Turkey" (co-edited with A. İçduygu; Bilgi University Press, 2009), "Turkish Immigrants in the European Union: Determinants of Immigration and Integration" (co-edited book with R.Erzan; Routledge, 2007), "Turkey In World Politics: An Emerging Multi-Regional Power" (co-edited with B. Rubin; Lynne Reinner, 2001), and "The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Trans-State Ethnic Conflict"(co-authored with G. Winrow; Frank Cass, 1997).

Kirişci earned a doctorate in international relations from the City University, London; a master's in international relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury, England; and a bachelor's in finance and management from Boğaziçi University, Istanbul.
For more on the speaker, please see  www.brookings.edu…