From Eastern Europe to Western China; The Growing Role of Turkey in the World andit's Implications for Western Interests

摘要

Here at the end of the twentieth century, quite unexpectedly, the world is beingsharply buffeted by geopolitical change unparalleled in scope at any time since World War I. The collapse of communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union have not only spawned fifteen new states in the world, but have brought the global Cold War to an end, unleashing waves of nationalism and separatism in many other states, of which Yugoslavia is only the most dramatic example. These regional events have generated massive ripple effects elsewhere in the world among a large number of noncommunist states; the process of fracture and disintegration of the basic concept of the nation-state is perhaps only beginning. Turkey has been among those states most immediately affected by the changing environment in the region around it. Located in geopolitical terms for so many decades in the southeastern corner of Europe, today Turkey lies at the center of a rapidly evolving new geopolitical region of Turkish peoples from Eastern Europe to Western China-a region in which it will be the central player. These geopolitical shifts, combined with Turkey's new prominence in international events, will have major impact on the way Turkey sees itself, deals with others, and is perceived by others.