NATO German warship FGS Bonn is part of flotilla patrolling the Aegean Sea in an effort to curb migrant activity between Turkey and Greece. Markus Schreiber / Press Association. All rights reserved. Relations between NATO and Turkey appear to be at a crossroads. Never before as in recent months have so many critical voices been raised against Turkey, with some analysts and experts even suggesting the possibility that Ankara may be expelled by the Atlantic Alliance.
The reasons are well known: on the one hand, Turkey is accused of having supported, at least indirectly, the so-called Islamic State (or Daesh) in the north of Syria, especially for anti-Kurdish reasons, threatening to undermine all western efforts, which have relied on Kurd fighters as allies on the ground against the Daesh. On the other side, in November of 2015 Turkey risked dragging NATO into a broader confrontation with Russia because of the downing of a Russian jet that had violated Turkish airspace.
Furthermore, if we look at the internal scenario, Turkey seems to have entered a phase of new authoritarianism, made evident by the climate of repression and censorship against the media. Why does Turkey seem so distant from western allies and how can Turkish foreign policy align again with the NATO interests?
