Search on Ifri.org

Frequent searches

Suggestions

Is Escalation Between France and Turkey in the Middle East and Beyond Inescapable?

External Articles
|
Date de publication
|
Image de couverture de la publication
gcsp_logo.png
Accroche

In recent years, France and Turkey have been on opposing sides relating to Middle East concerns. 

Image principale
Franco_turkish rivalry
Franco_turkish rivalry
Danielo/Shutterstock
Corps analyses

The countries’ disagreements over situations in Syria, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean, and lately the Caucasus, have escalated significantly, generating fears of a proxy conflict with direct military confrontation between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members. Attempting to rally widespread European support, France assertively challenges the Turkish “neo-Ottoman” ambitions; while Paris is anxious of Ankara’s acts outside of Paris’s expectations for a historically narrowly defined Turkish national interests. In the medium-term, the two countries appear to be testing each other to redefine their respective zones of influence, adapting their foreign policy objectives in the turbulent dynamics of the post-Arab Spring era. This power competition resonates domestically, as both the French and the Turkish public are receptive to the developing negative narratives of “the other.”

 

All rights reserved to GCSP

This content is available in English on Geneva Center of Security Policy website 

This content is available in Arabic :  هل التصعيد بين فرنسا وتركيا في الشرق األوسط وخارجه حتمي؟

Decoration
Author(s)
Photo
crance1-071.jpg

Dorothée SCHMID

Intitulé du poste

Responsable du programme Turquie/Moyen-Orient de l'Ifri

Image principale
Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Türkiye
Turkey/Middle East Program
Accroche centre

Ifri's Turkey/Middle East Program aims to provide expertise on the trends and developments in politics, societies and economies across the region.

The programme has the following objectives:

  • Proposing a new approach towards the MENA region through an analysis of local, regional, and international dynamics with the potential to guide and influence new policies.
  • Highlighting the role of foreign powers which have traditionally been present in the region and analyzing the new role taken on by emerging countries ;
  • Anticipating new directions and outlooks in each country.
  • Interpreting risks and potentials and putting forward new templates for analysis.

The programme has built a dense network of researchers and experts who provide expertise on the MENA region and working together on a range of crosscutting themes.

Image principale

Turkey and France - Allies or Rivals: Opportunities to be Seized

Date de publication
24 June 2025
Accroche

As international relations have become increasingly unpredictable, the quest is to find a semblance of normality. Alliances are shifting as interests are changing. The so-called order established after the Second World War is being shattered by those who have given so much to create it. Global relations are being transformed by countries that wish to follow the rules and others that want to circumvent or ignore them. In this uncertain environment, it is therefore all the more crucial to find stable allies.

Selim YENEL
Image de couverture de la publication
couv_essai_28juin.jpeg

RAMSES 2025. Between Powers and Powerlessness

Date de publication
04 September 2024
Accroche

Never before have there been so many powers able to upset the international balance of power, and never before have the dominant powers seemed so powerless to counter the fragmentation of the world.

Image principale

Out of Thin Air but More than a Mirage: The Politics of Saudi Arabia's Nascent Music Industry

Date de publication
18 December 2024
Accroche

This study critically examines Saudi Arabia’s nascent music industry, which is promoted as a key element of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s strategic framework to diversify the kingdom’s economy. It explores how state-led investments in music and entertainment intersect with authoritarian governance. The author neither dismisses these investments as conspicuous spending nor reproduces an alarmist narrative of impending cultural imperialism. The article takes a political sociology approach to understand how Saudi entertainment plans consolidate domestic power and reshape regional cultural landscapes.

Image principale

Hostage diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The case of Europeans detained in Iran

Date de publication
13 December 2024
Accroche

The so-called hostage diplomacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran refers to a political and diplomatic strategy in which Tehran uses the detention of Western nationals, dual citizens, or Iranian citizens residing in Europe, Australia, or the United States as leverage in diplomatic negotiations. This practice aims to exert pressure to secure political, economic, or diplomatic concessions as part of Tehran’s asymmetric response strategy. Hostage diplomacy remains a controversial yet effective tool from the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, given its context of economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation.

Page image credits
Franco_turkish rivalry
Danielo/Shutterstock

How can this study be cited?

Image de couverture de la publication
gcsp_logo.png
Is Escalation Between France and Turkey in the Middle East and Beyond Inescapable?, from Ifri by
Copy