NATO Summit in Ankara: Erdoğan’s Rising Strategic Value to Europe

This week, NATO leaders gathered in Ankara, providing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with a powerful platform at a time when Turkey’s strategic value to Europe is rising. In the "Brussels Playbook" podcast, Sarah Wheaton spoke with Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, about Erdoğan’s moment at the NATO summit, Turkey’s complicated relationship with Europe and the United States, and whether the EU can build a serious partnership with Ankara while still confronting its crackdown on political opposition and free media.

The podcast also featured author and POLITICO contributor John Kampfner, who discussed his new book, "Braver New World," and what Europe can learn from places that have found unusually good answers to big problems, from Vienna’s housing model to Finland’s schools and Estonia’s digital state. Additionally, the podcast invited listeners to share their summer reading recommendations for a future episode.