Dorothée SCHMID
Senior Research Fellow, Head of Ifri’s Türkiye and Middle East Program
Areas of expertise :
- Türkiye, foreign policy, social questions
- European policies in North Africa and in the Middle-East
- Political economy in the region
An expert on Mediterranean and Türkiye issues, Dorothée Schmid holds a diploma in public management from Science-Po Paris and a PHD in Political Science from Panthéon-Sorbonne University. She worked as a country-risk analyst for Bank Crédit Agricole-Indosuez and carried out consulting missions for public institutions (European Commission, French Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), as well as NGOs and private companies, before joining Ifri in 2002.
Dorothée Schmid has produced extensive analysis on EU and French policies in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, the issue of induced democratization, political economy and the regional balance of powers. She has started and developed Ifri’s Contemporary Türkiye Program since 2008 in order to follow the transformations of Turkish politics and the rise of Turkish foreign policy in its neighborhood and beyond. Her current research focusses on the dynamics of political reforms in the Middle East, the future of the rentier-state culture, post-conflict agendas and the new competition for influence among powers in the region.
Relations between southern European member states have often been marked by a loose cooperation or, worse, by logics of competition. Precisely when regional groupings within the European Union are increasingly shaping the agenda, these dynamics have hindered the capacity of France, Greece...
The bilateral defense agreement signed by France and Greece in September 2021 confirms the strategic turn of the relationship between the two countries. It was already unveiled in 2020 when Paris supported Athens to counter Turkish maritime operations that France and Greece considered very...
On July 20, 2021, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan celebrated with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Ersin Tatar the 47th anniversary of the Turkish military intervention in Northern Cyprus. This ceremony marks the strategic reinvestment of the Cypriot file by Turkey.
In recent years, France and Turkey have been on opposing sides relating to Middle East concerns.
This report is part of a joint endeavor of the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), along with Elcano Royal Institute (ELCANO, Madrid), The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM, Warsaw), Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI, Rome) and...
Middle Eastern geopolitics is currently undergoing structural changes: the regional order is in transition in the aftermath of the Arab Spring that undermined authoritarian governance, and triggered the competition for power against a backdrop of American withdrawal.
The geopolitical shadow of the Gulf now extends far beyond the Middle East as a function the external dealings of Iran and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.
In light of the current instability on Europe’s borders and uncertainties about the international role of the US under the administration of President Donald Trump, it is high time for Franco-German foreign policy initiatives. With the formation of a new German government, a window of...
The Arab Spring has shaken dysfunctional states that were built upon the recurrent use of violence.
Transatlantic differences over the future of the Iran nuclear deal – or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of July 2015 – are damaging a nuclear accord that all parties, except the United States, see as delivering on its purpose. They also increase the risk of Washington and...
The leaders of Saudi Arabia and Turkey are turning the page on years of strained relations, exacerbated by the 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Face-to-face dialogue is the order of the day between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman...
The EU and Turkey both say they are ready to iron out their differences and step up bilateral cooperation, which could take place in many areas. But Ankara will have to prove its goodwill.
Dorothée Schmid, head of the Middle East program participated in a webinar organized by Italian think tank ISPI and the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center to...
Competing claims have left Ankara isolated. Its efforts to stall projects threaten billions of dollars in investment. Europe’s top diplomat smiled for the camera as he took a helicopter flight over the disputed waters of the island of Cyprus at the end of June.
Turkey has decided to suspend the opening of several French studies departments in its universities, in a context of bilateral tensions after the publication of a "manifesto against new anti-Semitism" last month, calling for the correction of some parts of the Quran. Dorothée Schmid, head of...
Turkey is looking to revive a fragile ceasefire in Aleppo, and the planned evacuation of civilians, which brokered with Russia. But why is Ankara, a staunch opponent of Damascus, interested in helping to create an outcome that would benefit President Assad? Amanda Morrow put the question to...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP suffered a stunning defeat in the latest parliamentary poll with the party losing its absolute majority for the first time in 13 years. The question now is whether it can hold on to power.
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