The Agenda’s annual Countries Week is taking a slightly different track this year. We’ve decided to give The Agenda treatment to the themes we think have largely shaped the first decade of this century.
We start with tonight's debate by exploring the divide between East and West in the wake of 9/11 and in the decade that has followed. We'll examine the roots of the differences between East and West and ask if the Eastern and Western mentality can ever be reconciled.
The show will begin with a feature interview on Turkey. Turkey is the epitome of the East-West divide. By nature of its geography and its path from empire to secular democracy and now, treading in the path of increased Islamic influence in domestic and foreign affairs. Turkey has fought to see itself placed squarely with the West, but its inability to gain access to the European Union , the entrenchment of AKP rule under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Israeli attack of a Turkish flotilla heading for Gaza, has left it with the impression that turning to the East may better position Turkey in its global affairs.
This isn’t, of course, the first time we have turned our attention to Turkey. This emerging nation has long interested our Agenda team as you can see with our past coverage.
In May of this year, Steven A. Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, appeared on the Agenda to discuss on the future of US-Turkish relations and Turkey's G20 objectives.
Prior to that, on April 24, 2009, we visited the very contentious issue of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. We had both sides on to discuss interpretations of the past.
During our first Countries Week in December, 2008, we featured an in-depth debate on Turkey looking at its place between east and west, secularism and faith.
Not to be missed, our own David Erwin produced this short video looking at Turkish culture.
And finally, in May 2007, we featured a debate called The Turkish Crisis, after the boycott of the Turkish presidential elections that month.
We hope you can join us tonight.
