Turkey as a 'rising power': Rethinking US-Turkey relations

Often labeled as an emerging regional power, Turkey has adopted a more proactive, self-assertive, and multi-dimensional foreign policy in the last decade. A new foreign policy understanding and the country's economic growth have strengthened Turkey's role as a regional power especially in the Middle East, South Caucasus, and the Balkans. Recently, Turkey has been ranked as the seventeenth global economic power and is a member of the G-20 (Group of 20 major economies) seeking to build new alliances with BRICS. This transformation has important implications for Washington, among other international powers. Through a detailed process-tracing this chapter examines Turkish-American relations since the twentieth century together with the changing power structures in the international system. The analysis demonstrates a significant paradox: Turkey's rising influence in its neighborhood, which has been facilitated by the changes in the international system, renders Turkey both a valuable ally and a challenge to Washington. This chapter explores the growing economic, political, military, and cultural presence of China in Latin America. It analyses the main drivers of China's growing involvement in the region distinguishing between strategic political, strategic economic, and commercial motives. The chapter discusses the fears and concerns that have been expressed in the US over China's growing influence in the region and the extent to which China represents a challenge to US hegemony. Trade is central to Latin America's economic relations with China. The growth of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America lagged behind that of trade, only taking off towards the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century. China recognizes that establishing military alliances or obtaining military bases in Latin America would be viewed with concern in the US. The most important strategic economic objective of the Chinese government in Latin America is to ensure a secure supply of resources, particularly oil and minerals.