The West and Turkey: Their Role in Shaping a Wider Global Architecture

On May 2, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings (CUSE) hosted a discussion with former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski. In his remarks, Brzezinski offered perspectives from his new book, Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power (Basic Books, 2012), on how the United States and Europe can better engage with Turkey. In the book, he asserts that only a vigorous and united West that includes Turkey and Russia will be able to combine power with principle to shape the future global order.

Zbigniew Brzezinski served as national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter. In 1981, Brzezinski received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in the normalization of U.S.-Chinese relations. He is currently a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a counselor and trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A prolific author, Brzezinski has written numerous influential books on foreign policy and international affairs.

Brookings President Strobe Talbott and Güler Sabancı, chair of the Board of Trustees of Sabancı University, provided introductory remarks. Following Brzezinski’s remarks, Strobe Talbott moderated a discussion with the audience in Washington. Sabancı University Professor Meltem Müftüler-Baç also moderated the discussion in Istanbul with students and a wider overseas audience who joined the event via videoconference.

The discussion was the eighth annual event in the Sakıp Sabancı Lecture Series, which features leading international statesman and explores Turkey’s increasingly important role in the world. The series honors the memory of Sakip Sabanci, one of Turkey’s foremost business leaders, a visionary supporter of democratic and economic reforms, and a leading advocate of Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union.