"How the AKP looks from Europe
Eldar Mamedov
Observers of Turkish politics spent much of 2009 wondering whether the country was turning its back on the West and veering towards Islamism in foreign policy and illiberalism at home. Turkey’s active pursuit of the “strategic depth” policy in the Middle East has not been matched by an equally vigorous effort to bring the country closer to the political and social institutions, values and principles of the European Union. While Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government have adopted an explicitly pro-Islamist rhetoric on some important foreign policy issues, this development has been accompanied by illiberal trends back home."
More:How the AKP looks from Europe - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review