Program archives

December 17, 2004 is a critically important date for Turkey's future. On that day, the European Union will decide whether to begin negotiations that will eventually integrate Turkish society into its framework, or nullify such intentions. Positively speaking, Turkey's relatively youthful population can potentially energize an aging Europe and serve as the foundation for modernizing Middle Eastern societies. This is countered however by Europe's pronounced concerns over different cultures, economic disparities and even geopolitical fears.

Since 1990, Gerald Robbins has covered Turkey as a journalist, writing for The Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, The Washington Times, and The Journal of Commerce. Mr. Robbins' particular focus has been on the region's oil development and water concerns, Islam's rise within Turkish society, and socioeconomic changes within post-Soviet Georgia, Azerbaijan and the Turkic republics. His articles and commentaries on these topics have also appeared in The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Freedom Review and Global Affairs Quarterly. Mr. Robbins was the Program Director of Freedom House, in Baku, Azerbaijan from 1995 to 1997, where he was responsible for the implementation of democracy development and economic reform programs. Mr. Robins holds a BA in Political Science from Princeton University, and an MA in Near East Studies from New York University. He also studied at Bosphorus University in Istanbul under a Fulbright-Hayes Fellowship.