NATO's Most Complicated Member: Turkey

Podcast Deep Dish on Global Affairs Podcast
As NATO adapts to wars in Europe and the Middle East, Turkey is becoming harder to ignore. Aslı Aydıntaşbaş explains how Turkey is balancing its alliances, expanding its influence, and positioning itself as a middle power.
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About The Episode

Turkey is playing an increasingly important role inside NATO, but its relationships with Russia, Europe, and the United States are more complicated than ever. Brookings Institution’s Aslı Aydıntaşbaş joins Leslie Vinjamuri to discuss President Trump’s relationship with President Erdoğan, Turkey’s balancing act between Russia and the West, and what Ankara’s growing influence means for NATO, transatlantic security, and US foreign policy.

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About the Experts
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş
Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe; Director, The Turkey Project, Brookings Institution
Asli Aydintasbas Head Shot
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş is a fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution and the director of The Turkey Project. She is also a senior associate fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Prior to joining the foreign policy community in 2016, Aydıntaşbaş had a long career in journalism.
Asli Aydintasbas Head Shot
Leslie Vinjamuri
President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Leslie Vinjamuri headshot
Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Council in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She is Professor of Practice in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London.
Leslie Vinjamuri headshot
Issues Defense and Security
Regions Europe North America
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