许多分析人士将土耳其近来日益强硬的外交姿态描述为一种新的复兴,该国在若干国际议题上发挥着主导作用。土耳其拥有全球第15大经济体,其地理位置使其成为东西方之间的能源枢纽。一些人甚至使用"TRIC"这一术语来代替"BRIC",后者最初由高盛在2005年的一份报告中提出,用以描述新兴崛起的国家。各路专家now将土耳其的崛起称为新奥斯曼主义。

A number of analysts have described Turkey’s recent assertiveness as a new resurgence with the nation playing a leading role in a number of international issues. With the 15th largest economy in the world, Turkey’s geographical location has turned the country into a energy hub between the East and the West. Some have even used the term TRIC, rather than BRIC, which was originally coined by Goldman Sachs in a 2005 report when describing the new upcoming nations. Various experts are now describing Turkey's ascendency as neo-Ottomanism.

Stratfor说：

Stratfor said:

“土耳其和俄罗斯一样，也正走在崛起的道路上。安卡拉正在重新发现其奥斯曼时代的影响力，此前数十年，它曾像一位地缘政治上的隐士。其影响力向外扩展，既覆盖伊斯兰世界，包括中东、中亚和南亚，也通过欧亚大陆延伸至高加索和巴尔干地区。我们所看到的，是土耳其一套审慎的战略：它在周边各个地区进行试探，设法抓住可能出现的机会。遇到阻力时，土耳其便撤退；在几乎没有或完全没有阻力的地方，它则向前推进。这些非常初步的探索性举动，将在相当长的一段时间内决定土耳其地缘政治复兴的走向。”19

“Turkey, like Russia, is also on an ascendant path. Ankara is rediscovering its Ottoman-era influence after spending the past several decades as a geopolitical hermit. Its influence spreads across the Islamic world to the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia as well as through Eurasia in the Caucasus and the Balkans. What we have is a careful Turkish strategy that involves probing into its various surrounding regions, attempting to take advantage of potential opportunities. Where the Turks find resistance, they retreat. In places where they encounter little or no resistance, they advance. These very preliminary and exploratory moves will define Turkish attempts at geopolitical revival for some time to come.”19

约翰·费弗（John Feffer），《焦点外交政策》（Foreign Policy In Focus）联合主任，他表示：

John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy In focus said:

“土耳其很快就成为未来超级大国的有力候选者。它拥有世界第17大经济体，据高盛预测，到2050年有很大机会跻身全球前十。其经济实力也有坚实的后盾：在北大西洋公约组织（NATO）数十年的援助之后，土耳其军队如今已是地区强国。或许最重要的是，土耳其位于欧洲、中东和中亚之间的关键十字路口。它是一个以穆斯林为主的民主国家，坐落在拜占庭的废墟之上，连接着伊斯兰传统与犹太-基督教传统；同时，它又处于能源政治的交汇点上。条条大路通罗马，如今所有管道似乎都通向土耳其。如果超级大国地位遵循房地产的法则——地段、地段、还是地段——那么土耳其早已接近金字塔的顶端。”20

“Turkey promptly becomes a likely candidate for future superpower. It possesses the 17th top economy in the world and, according to Goldman Sachs, has a good shot at breaking into the top 10 by 2050. Its economic muscle is also well defended: after decades of assistance from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Turkish military is now a regional powerhouse. Perhaps most importantly, Turkey occupies a vital crossroads between Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. A predominantly Muslim democracy atop the ruins of Byzantium, it bridges the Islamic and Judeo-Christian traditions, even as it sits perched at the nexus of energy politics. All roads once led to Rome; today all pipelines seem to lead to Turkey. If superpower status followed the rules of real estate - location, location, location - then Turkey would already be near the top of the heap.”20

1453年，奥斯曼人完成了对拜占庭首都君士坦丁堡的征服。这标志着罗马帝国残余统治的终结，而罗马帝国曾在近四个世纪中是世界的超级强国。 奥斯曼人是蒙古入侵之后，于13世纪大量进入伊斯兰土地的众多突厥穆斯林骑兵部落之一。这些已皈依伊斯兰教的突厥战士被塞尔柱人派往国家边境。塞尔柱人本身也是突厥血统。他们拥有卓越的战斗技能和热情，塞尔柱人希望他们在与拜占庭人的边境地带发挥这些优势。乌斯曼家族被证明是这些部落中最成功的之一，从拜占庭人手中夺取了许多城镇和村庄。随后，他们将其他加齐（圣战战士）团结在自己的旗帜之下，使君士坦丁堡周围的土地归入伊斯兰统治之下，最终于1453年攻占了拜占庭帝国的首都君士坦丁堡。

In 1453 the Ottoman’s concluded the conquest of Constantinople, the Byzantine capital. This brought to an end all remnants of Roman rule, who had been the world’s superpower for nearly four centuries. The Ottoman’s were one of the many bands of Turkmen horsemen who began to come into the Islamic lands as a result of the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. These Turkmen warriors, who had converted to Islam, were sent to the frontiers of the state by the Seljuks, who themselves were of Turkish origin. They had excellent fighting skills and zeal, which the Seljuks wanted them to apply along the frontier with the Byzantines. The house of Uthman proved to be one of the most successful of these bands, taking many towns and villages from the control of the Byzantines, they then unified the other ghazis, under their banner, brought the lands surrounding Constantinople under Islam, culminating in the capture of Byzantine Empire capital - Constantinople in 1453.

奥斯曼人以惊人的势头横扫巴尔干半岛和东欧。重要城市塞萨洛尼基（马其顿）于1387年从威尼斯人手中被攻占。1389年，奥地利、保加利亚、波斯尼亚和匈牙利的国王们进攻奥斯曼人，但苏丹穆拉德一世在科索沃将他们击溃，这一结果震惊了欧洲。1396年，包括法国和德国军队在内的整个欧洲在尼科堡与苏丹巴耶济德·耶尔德勒姆交战，但遭到全面击败，二十位君主和显贵被押往哈里发的宫廷充作俘虏。苏丹巴耶济德已吞并了从波斯尼亚直至多瑙河的全部领土。1398年，他还征服了希腊（雅典）。

The Ottoman’s swept through the Balkans and Eastern Europe in spectacular fashion. The important city of Thessaloniki (Macedonia) was captured from the Venetians in 1387. In 1389, the kings of Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Hungary attacked the Ottoman’s but Sultan Murad I crushed them at Kosovo, which shocked Europe. In 1396, the whole of Europe including French and German armies fought against Sultan Bayazid Yaldram at Nicopolis but were comprehensively defeated and 20 rulers and dignitaries were brought to the Khaleefah’s court as the captives. Sultan Bayazid had annexed all the territory from Bosnia to Danube. He had also conquered Greece (Athens) in 1398.

在苏莱曼·卡努尼（Suleiman al Qanooni）统治于1566年结束之前，他已将伊斯兰的疆界大大拓展至东欧腹地，使塞尔维亚的首都贝尔格莱德归入伊斯兰统治之下，并收复了希腊的罗兹岛。他击败了匈牙利与波希米亚的国王路易二世，使匈牙利的大部分地区处于伊斯兰的统治之下。到1578年，格鲁吉亚以及今天的罗马尼亚也已处于伊斯兰统治之下。在17世纪初之前，奥斯曼人已将南意大利、匈牙利、奥地利、罗马尼亚、马其顿、保加利亚、阿尔巴尼亚、马耳他、塞浦路斯、克罗地亚、乌克兰、加那利群岛、冰岛的部分地区，以及英国布里斯托尔海域中最大的岛屿——伦迪岛，都纳入了伊斯兰的统治之下。

Before Suleiman al Qanooni's reign came to an end in 1566 he had expanded the Islamic frontiers well into Eastern Europe bringing Belgrade the capital of Serbia under Islam as well as regaining the Greek island of Rhodes. He had defeated Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia and brought most of Hungary under Islamic authority. By 1578 Georgia and what is today Romania was under Islam. Before the beginning of the 17th century the Ottoman’s had brought Southern Italy, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Malta, Cyprus, Croatia, Ukraine, the Canary Islands, parts of Iceland and the largest island of the Bristol waters in England, UK - Lundy under Islamic authority.

正是由于奥斯曼哈里发国在苏莱曼·卡努尼（Suleiman al Qanooni）统治时期所带来的这种被感知到的威胁，奥地利君主斐迪南一世的大使布斯贝克（Busbecq）警告欧洲即将面临征服："在[土耳其人]一方，有一个强大帝国的资源，实力完好无损，习惯于胜利，能忍受艰苦，团结一致，纪律严明，生活节俭，并且保持警觉……我们能怀疑结果会是什么吗？……当土耳其人与波斯和解之后，他们将借助整个东方的力量向我们扑来；我们准备得多么不足，我不敢说。"21

Such was the perceived threat of the Ottoman Khilafah under the reign of Suleiman al Qanooni that ambassador Busbecq of the Austrian monarch Ferdinand I warned of Europe's imminent conquest: "On [the Turks'] side are the resources of a mighty empire, strength unimpaired, habituation to victory, endurance of toil, unity, discipline, frugality and watchfulness... Can we doubt what the result will be?...When the Turks have settled with Persia, they will fly at our throats supported by the might of the whole East; how unprepared we are I dare not say."21

土耳其曾经是一个超级大国，那时奥斯曼人统一了西土耳其周边的许多土地。他们取代拜占庭帝国成为世界的超级大国，并且几个世纪以来都对欧洲构成威胁。自哈里发制度被摧毁以来，土耳其境内的一些势力一直在努力消除这个国家的伊斯兰根基。土耳其因此转向西方，加入了北约，在冷战期间维护美国的战略目标，并且正在尝试加入欧洲联盟（EU）。

自阿卜杜拉·居尔（Abdullah Gul）和雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安（Recep Tayyip Erdogan）离开美德党（Virtue party），并在埃尔多安的领导下组建正义与发展党之后，两人便开始与美国加强联系，以削弱英国的影响及其与军队的联系。尽管已推行多项改革以打破军队对权力的掌控，但正义与发展党战略的核心，是土耳其政府与美国政府于2006年7月5日由阿卜杜拉·居尔与康多莉扎·赖斯签署的《共同愿景文件》（‘Shared Vision Document’）。此次会晤确认："该战略愿景文件确认土美双方达成共识，通过有效合作与结构化对话，将我们的共同愿景转化为共同努力。"22 正义与发展党与美国就若干问题达成一致，其中包括：

Ever since Abdullah Gul and Recep Tayyip Erdogan left the Virtue party and formed the Justice and Development Party under the leadership of Erdogan, they both began cementing ties with America in order to remove the influence of Britain and its ties with the Army. Whilst many reforms have been introduced to break the armies hold on power the centrepiece of the AKP’s strategy was the ‘Shared Vision Document’ signed between the Turkish and American government by Abdulla Gul and Condoleezza Rice on 5th July 2006. The meeting confirmed: "The strategic vision document confirms Turkish-US consensus to translate our shared vision into common efforts through effective cooperation and structured dialogue."22 The AKP and the US agreed to amongst a number of issues:

1.支持旨在永久解决阿以冲突的国际努力，包括在两国方案的基础上解决以巴冲突的国际努力。

1.Supporting international efforts towards a permanent settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, including international efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of a two-state solution.

2. 支持关于伊朗核计划的外交努力，包括近期的P5+1倡议；为黑海地区、高加索、中亚和阿富汗的稳定、民主与繁荣做出贡献。

2.Supporting diplomatic efforts on Iran's nuclear program, including the recent P5+1 initiative Contributing to stability, democracy and prosperity in the Black Sea region, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Afghanistan.

3. 通过多元化供应路线和能源来源（包括来自里海盆地的能源）来增强能源安全。

3.Enhancing energy security through diversification of routes and sources, including from the Caspian basin.

美国众议院外交事务委员会在欧洲小组委员会主席罗伯特·韦克斯勒主持下,于2009年奥巴马4月访问土耳其这一历史性事件之后,召开了一场题为《美国与土耳其:典范伙伴关系》的听证会。会议总结称:“在我们面临阿富汗、伊拉克、伊朗、巴尔干、黑海、高加索和中东等地严峻安全问题,以及全球金融危机的环境下,这种合作对两国都至关重要。”23

A US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing entitled The United States and Turkey: A Model Partnership under the chairmanship of the Head of the Subcommittee on Europe Robert Wexler was convened following, the historic visit Obama paid to Turkey in April 2009, concluded that, “This cooperation is vital for both of the two states in an environment in which we face serious security issues in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, the Balkans, Black Sea, Caucuses and the Middle East, besides a global financial crisis.”23

土耳其在奥斯曼哈里发统治之下，于18至19世纪打了一系列战争并且多次失利，导致奥斯曼帝国向俄罗斯割让领土。1924年奥斯曼哈里发制度崩溃之后，发生了一系列与亚美尼亚有关的事件，这些事件后来被称为亚美尼亚大屠杀。这一事件奠定了高加索各国与土耳其之间敌对关系的基调。如今，俄罗斯和土耳其都在努力在该地区争取立足之地。

Turkey under the Uthmani Khilafah fought and lost a number of wars in the 18th and 19th centuries which led to the Ottoman’s to cede territory to Russia. The collapse of the Ottoman Khilafah in 1924 led to a number of incidents with Armenia - which have come to be known as the Armenian massacre. This defined the hostile relations between the Caucasian nations and Turkey. Today both Russia and Turkey are working to gain a foothold in the region.

土耳其目前正处于与亚美尼亚关系正常化的漫长进程之中，其中包括开放两国共同边界。双方经过多轮峰会和磋商，已签署若干议定书。然而，由于两国内部某些势力的反对，这些议定书仍滞留在土耳其和亚美尼亚的议会之中。此类谈判的结果与阿塞拜疆密切相关，阿塞拜疆希望在亚美尼亚与土耳其之间的任何协议中，都能解决纳戈尔诺-卡拉巴赫领土问题。

Turkey is currently in the middle of a lengthy process to normalise relations with Armenia. Normalising ties includes the opening of the shared border. The talks have gone through a number of summits and discussions, which has produced protocols both nations have signed. The protocols however remain stuck in both Turkish and Armenian parliaments due to the resistance in both nations by certain elements. The outcome of such negotiations is intrinsically linked to Azerbaijan who wants the Nagorno-Karabakh territory to be resolved under any agreement between Armenia and Turkey.

纳戈尔诺-卡拉巴赫地区是在苏联解体前夕获得独立地位的。亚美尼亚和阿塞拜疆都对该地区提出主权要求。该地区持续困扰着两国关系，双方已在该地区多次交战。目前，阿塞拜疆与亚美尼亚之间的谈判正在俄罗斯的斡旋下进行。俄罗斯的复兴使其重新向高加索地区扩张，并致力于将其昔日的加盟共和国重新置于自己的影响之下。高加索对俄罗斯而言至关重要，因为它充当着俄罗斯与其他地区强国之间的缓冲地带。俄罗斯对构成高加索的各国的影响和控制，阻止了其他大国在该地区站稳脚跟。

The Nagorno-Karabakh territory was given independence in the dying days of the Soviet Union. It is a territory that both Armenia and Azerbaijan lay claim to. The territory continues to plague relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan as both have gone to war on a number of occasions over the territory. Currently negotiations are taking place between Azerbaijan and Armenia mediated by Russia. Russia’s resurgence has meant that it is expanding into the Caucuses again and working to bring its former republics under its influence once again. The Caucuses is important to Russia as it acts as buffer zone between Russia and other regional powers. Russian influence and control over the nations that comprise the Caucuses prevents other powers from gaining a foothold in the region.

阿塞拜疆对土耳其在其领土主张上所投入的重视程度心存疑虑。这导致阿塞拜疆转而寻求俄罗斯的调解。俄罗斯得以在阿塞拜疆、亚美尼亚和土耳其之间纵横捭阖、左右逢源。俄罗斯的这一策略也对土耳其日益显著的崛起构成了障碍,因为它阻止了土耳其开辟通往里海能源的直接供应线,从而使欧洲在试图摆脱对俄罗斯能源依赖的过程中,难以获取这些资源。

Azerbaijan has doubts over the importance Turkey places upon its claims to the territory. This has resulted in Azerbaijan turning to Russia’s mediation. Russia has been able to play Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey off each other. This strategy by Russia also places an obstacle in the apparent ascendency of Turkey as it prevents it from a direct supply line to the energy of the Caspian Sea, which prevents Europe from accessing those resources as it attempts to circumnavigate around its dependence on Russia’s energy.

土耳其通过与阿布哈兹政府的直接接触，已成为格鲁吉亚的一项战略性再保险。对格鲁吉亚而言，土耳其与阿布哈兹和南奥塞梯的贸易，有助于使阿布哈兹免于俄罗斯的全面主导。24

Turkey has become a strategic reinsurance for Georgia through its direct contact with the Government of Abkhazia. For Georgia Turkey’s commerce with Abkhazia and South Ossetia helps Abkhazia from total Russian domination.24

土耳其的地理位置使其成为能源的通道。横跨欧亚两洲，土耳其的港口接收原油和天然气，经提炼后销往欧洲市场。土耳其一直倡导欧洲的能源项目，例如纳布科管道项目，以绕开俄罗斯的管网。正如一位分析人士所说："欧洲能源多元化的另一条更安全的通道是土耳其——它已经是两条来自里海的主要管道的终点。土耳其的地中海港口杰伊汉为欧洲提供急需的替代石油。但是，尽管土耳其有潜力成为欧洲的能源枢纽，欧盟仍有大量工作要做。首要任务应是展开外交攻势，推动纳布科天然气管道的建设，该管道将从土耳其经保加利亚、罗马尼亚和匈牙利通往奥地利。这一项目将为里海资源抵达欧洲提供另一条关键替代路线，从而开始缓解对俄罗斯的过度依赖。"25

Turkey's geographic location has turned it into a conduit for energy. Straddling Europe and Asia, Turkey's Ports receive crude oil and natural gas which is then refined and sold to European markets. Turkey has regularly advocated European energy projects, like Nabucco, that circumvent the Russian network. As one analyst put it: "The other more secure corridor for European energy diversification is Turkey - already an end point for two major pipelines from the Caspian. Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan supplies Europe with much needed alternative oil. But while Turkey has the potential to become an energy hub for Europe, there is much work left for the EU. The first order of business would be a diplomatic offensive to realize the Nabucco gas pipeline from Turkey to Austria through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. This project would provide another key alternative route for Caspian resources to reach Europe to begin to ameliorate overdependence on Russia."25

俄罗斯将其能源资源用作外交政策工具，致使乌克兰、立陶宛，随后是整个欧洲，都被这个曾经的世界强国所挟持。欧洲，尤其是法国和德国对俄罗斯碳氢化合物能源的依赖，已多次暴露无遗，而土耳其目前是摆脱俄罗斯能源依赖的唯一替代选择。

Russia’s use of its energy resources as a foreign policy tool has seen Ukraine, Lithuania and subsequently Europe being held hostage by the former world power. Europe and especially France and Germany’s dependency on Russia's energy hydrocarbons has been exposed one too many times and Turkey currently represents the only alternative to Russian energy dependency.

土耳其并不属于正在制定针对伊朗浓缩铀问题制裁方案的P5+1国家之列。美国已经违背了此前达成的所有协议与约定，这使伊朗核问题升级到了今天的地步。这表明美国无意解决这一冲突，实际上确保了任何解决方案都无法达成。 美国通过这场外交危机实现了其在该地区的若干目标。面对伊朗的言辞，美国为海湾阿拉伯国家提供安全保障，从而获得了战略优势；它还迫使以色列签署了一项安全协议。土耳其和巴西提出的核燃料互换方案，旨在缓和伊朗核争议，其提出之日恰逢美国提请对伊朗实施制裁之时。 土耳其在中东的各项立场与美国并无二致。土耳其赞同两国方案，并积极参与间接会谈，以重启和平进程。同样，美国需要能够依靠的国家来帮助其从伊拉克脱身，而土耳其乐于扮演这一角色。 兰德公司欧洲安全问题企业讲席教授斯蒂芬·拉勃尔（Stephen Larrabee）谈及土耳其在中东的角色时说："土耳其新的积极作为，是对冷战结束以来其安全环境结构性变化的回应。如果管理得当，它可以成为华盛顿及其西方盟友借土耳其通往中东的一个机会，使土耳其成为连接中东的桥梁。"26

Turkey is not part of the P5 + 1 nations who are attempting to construct a sanctions programme against Iran for enriching Uranium. The US has reneged all deals and agreements that have been reached which has allowed the Iran nuclear issue to escalate to the level it has. This shows that the US has no intention of solving this conflict and it has actually ensured no solution is ever reached. The US achieves a number of its aims in the region through this diplomatic crisis. America has gained a strategic advantage by providing security to the Gulf Arab countries in the face of Iran's rhetoric; it has also forced the Israelis into a security pact. Turkey and Brazil’s nuclear fuel swap proposal to de-escalate the Iranian nuclear controversy took place on the same day when the US was tabling sanctions against Iran. Turkey various positions in the Middle East are no different to America’s, Turkey agrees with the two state solution and has actively participated in the indirect talks to kick start the peace process. Similarly America needs nations it can rely on to extricate itself from Iraq and Turkey has been more than happy to play the patron. Stephen Larrabee, Corporate Chair in European Security at the RAND Corporation said regarding Turkey’s role in the Middle East “Turkey's new activism is a response to structural changes in its security environment since the end of the Cold War. And, if managed properly, it could be an opportunity for Washington and its Western allies to use Turkey as a bridge to the Middle East.”26

这正是土耳其和巴西与伊朗达成核浓缩协议时所发生的情况。长期以来，美国一直利用伊朗核问题的僵局来实现其在该地区的其他目标。随着欧洲对制裁的压力不断加大，美国在面对欧洲的强大压力以及联合国非常任理事国与常任理事国之间的分歧时，与伊朗达成了另一项协议。

This is exactly what took place with regards to the nuclear enrichment deal Turkey and Brazil reached with Iran. The US for long has used the Iranian nuclear stand off to achieve its other aims in the region. With European pressure increasing on sanctions, America achieved an alternative deal with Iran in the face of stiff European pressure with the non-permanent members of the United Nations over the permanent members.

土耳其所谓的自主性远非真正的独立。自二战结束以来，经历整个冷战和海湾战争，土耳其一直站在美国一边。如今，高加索地区成为热点，重新崛起的俄罗斯正努力使其前加盟共和国重新置于自身影响之下，并建立一道缓冲地带以保护俄罗斯内陆。土耳其无论是出于自主选择还是有意为之，实际上不仅在维护美国的利益，也在维护欧洲的利益。通过与该地区各国发展关系，土耳其正试图使俄罗斯的利益更加复杂，而这正是美国在该地区的战略。

Turkish assertiveness is anything but independent. Since the end of WW2, throughout the Cold War and Gulf wars Turkey has sided with the US. Currently the Caucuses is a hot spot where a resurgent Russia is looking to bring its former republics under its influence and create a buffer zone to protect the Russia interior. Turkey in reality whether independently or by design is not just protecting US interests but also European interests. By forging relations with the nations of the region Turkey is attempting to complicate Russian interests, which is the US strategy in the region.

在能源领域,土耳其的独立性和回旋余地大有疑问,因为西方多次把土耳其描绘成俄罗斯的替代选项。事实上,土耳其似乎是在维护欧洲的能源利益,进而维护美国的利益,确保俄罗斯的影响力无法获得任何发展势头。

In the area of energy Turkish independence and manoeuvring is highly questionable when the West on many occasions has presented Turkey as the alternative to Russia. It appears Turkey is in reality protecting European energy interests and subsequently US interests in ensuring Russian influence doesn’t gain any momentum.

同样，土耳其在叙利亚与以色列之间进行的调停，以解决巴勒斯坦冲突，并不是一个重新崛起、想要按照自身目标塑造地区政治的土耳其，而是处于美国的努力之下：美国试图在以色列与地区内的穆斯林国家之间启动间接谈判，以实现关系正常化。此时，和平进程已经十年毫无进展，而美国也正试图从伊拉克和阿富汗脱身。

Similarly Turkish mediation between Syria and Israel in solving the Palestinian conflict is not a resurgent Turkey looking to shape the politics of the region according to its aims but rather it comes under US attempts to start indirect talks between Israel and the Muslim nations of the region to normalise relations after a decade of no progress on the peace process and as the US attempts to extricate itself from Iraq and Afghanistan.

土耳其的能源资源非常有限，但由于其地处欧亚之间、又位于石油消费国与石油生产国之间的战略位置，多条重要的石油和天然气管道穿境而过。土耳其的地理位置使其自然成为连接一方面的中东、中亚和高加索主要石油产区与另一方面的欧洲消费市场之间的天然转运通道。因此，土耳其发展出了先进的矿产加工业，并在许多关键金属和化学品领域位居世界前列。土耳其也是世界上最大的农业生产国之一。

Turkey has very limited energy resources, but because of its strategic location between Europe and Asia and between oil consumers and oil producers, it is crossed by several major oil and gas pipelines. Turkey’s geographical location makes it a natural trans shipment route between the major oil producing areas in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus on the one hand, and consumer markets in Europe on the other. As a result Turkey has developed an advanced mineral processing industry and is a world leader in many key metals and chemicals. Turkey is also one of the world’s largest agricultural producers.

与其保护其他国家的需求，土耳其正处于通过推行独立外交政策而成为世界强国的有利位置。许多分析人士所称的当前土耳其的强势姿态被称为“复兴”，但这远非事实，因为土耳其只是在美国允许的空间内活动。土耳其在巴勒斯坦问题上的斡旋，是在美国已决定就最终解决方案进行间接谈判的情况下进行的。同样，美国遏制俄罗斯、把俄罗斯的扩张势头一路逼回俄罗斯领土的政策，使土耳其在高加索地区发挥了主导作用，以复杂化俄罗斯的图谋。而美国对土耳其的回报，则是美国众议院外交事务委员会通过一项决议，谴责土耳其在亚美尼亚大屠杀中所涉及的奥斯曼帝国的所谓角色。

Rather then protecting the needs of other nations, Turkey is in pole position to become a world power through pursuing an independent foreign policy. The current assertiveness many analysts describe as a ‘resurgence,’ could not be further from the truth, this is because Turkey is only manoeuvring within the space the US has permitted it. Turkey's mediation in the Palestinian issue takes place when the US has decided indirect negotiations should take place on the final settlement. Similarly America's policy of containing Russia and pushing Russian assertiveness all the way back into Russian territory has seen Turkey play a leading role in the Caucuses to complicate Russian aims. Turkey's has been repaid by the US by the House Foreign Affairs Committee passing a resolution condemning Turkey for the apparent role of the Ottoman’s in the Armenian Genocide.

当土耳其不断进行改革，以期被国际社会接纳时，美国仍在利用土耳其来实现其自身目标，而欧洲联盟则持续拖延土耳其加入欧盟的愿望。除非土耳其从其历史中汲取教训——那段时期它曾是超级大国，并推行独立的政策——否则它将永远无法成为世界强国。

Whilst Turkey continues to reform itself in order to be welcomed into the international arena America continues to use Turkey for its aims and the European Union continues to delay Turkey's ambition to join the EU. Until Turkey takes lessons from its history, where it was a superpower and construct independent polices it will never be a world power.