between Western European influences, and traditional Islamic authority. Smack dab in the middle

of this power struggle lies Turkey, the quasi-democratic and secular country with allies on both sides.

So how powerful is Turkey?

Well, Turkey’s influence partially stems from their massive military presence. Due

to mandatory conscription, Turkey boasts the second largest army in the NATO alliance besides

the United States, with 610,000 active military personnel, and the ability to produce advanced

defense technology.Turkey appeals to the West as one of the few secular and democratic forces

in the Middle East, while also maintaining a positive relationship with neighboring countries

because of their 99.8% Sunni Muslim population

Turkey has taken an active role playing peacekeeper between East and West by mediating secret

talks between Israel and Syria, as well as taking an active role in negotiating Iran’s

nuclear proliferation. However, in recent years the Turkish president has spurned Israel

in the Palestinian conflict, and disowned Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, even going

so far as to quietly encourage ISIS’s role in destabilizing the Syrian government. Last

month, the Turkish Prime Minister was implicated in secretly sending weapons to al-Qaeda and

ISIS in Syria. As a result, Turkey’s goodwill relationships with both the East and West

has started to look a lot weaker.

Economically, Turkey is booming. Following the 2008 global financial recession, Turkey

has seen faster growth than any European country, and is one of the fastest growing economies

in the world. Additionally, Turkey is one of the few self-sufficient agricultural countries;

however, much of their energy needs are still imported and they have limited domestic oil

reserves.

So what does this all mean for Turkey? On one hand, the country is in a state of flux

with alliances to both Western and Middle Eastern powers. On the other hand, Turkey

is deeply entangled in that same power struggle, and as evidenced by their recent difficulty

in joining the EU, it’s considered somewhat of a loose cannon by both sides. Although

Turkey is indeed quite powerful, it relies heavily on its mutually allied status.

Despite the amount of violence so close to home, Turkey is extremely hesitant to join

the war against ISIS. Want to know why? Check out our video here. To see all of our latest

videos, click here now!