Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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With EU membership on ice and the rise of the Arab Spring, the 2010s saw Erdogan seek to make Turkey a Middle East heavyweight. But backing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Syria would prove bad bets for Ankara. In the end, Egypt’s coup, Syria’s jihadist rise, and the resilience of Russia-backed Assad would leave only Qatar, Tripoli, and Iraqi Kurds as regional allies, prompting Erdogan's next pivot.

#Erdogan #TurkeyPolitics #MiddleEast #MuslimBrotherhood #SyrianCivilWar #EgyptCoup #TurkeyForeignPolicy #Geopolitics #MiddleEastHistory #internationalrelations #jameskerlindsay