Turkish-Russian Relations: Prospects and Challenges.

• Author: Copoglu, Muhammed Onur

Edited by Natalya Ketenci and Gokce Bayindir Goularas

Lexington Books, 2020, 106 pages, $84.00, ISBN: 9781793606242

Turkish-Russian relations have a long history with complex dimensions attracting scholarly investigations from various disciplines. Indeed, the relations between the two countries require multidisciplinary academic endeavors to fully grasp their complicated character. Studying this complex relationship in a multidisciplinary way can potentially help unearth underrealized cooperative spaces that might diminish confrontational areas in their relationship. Turkish-Russian Relations: Prospects and Challenges, edited by Natalya Ketenci and Gokce Bayindir Goularas, promises such a payoff by bringing together contributors from multidisciplinary backgrounds. Moreover, the book appears timely, as many readers are currently interested in better understanding Turkish-Russian relations. The book aims to analyze these relations from different perspectives to better comprehend their potentially cooperative aspect.

Turkish-Russian Relations consists of eight chapters and is thematically divided into two parts. In the first, the geopolitical aspects of Turkish-Russian relations come under study, while the second deals with economic aspects. In the first chapter, Deniz Tansi evaluates bilateral relations between Russia and Turkiye in the context of the Middle East after the Cold War. After presenting the key events in the relations, the chapter concludes that relations between two countries have a multilateral character, as they involve multiple states and various regional relations. However, the general superficiality of the chapter leaves certain foreign policy events unanalyzed, such as the S-400 crisis and the Syrian civil war. As an additional weakness of the chapter, this superficiality is accompanied by some semantic confusions within the text, such as in the question "Why Turkish-U.S. alliance began with the Middle East, was Truman's speech significant in history?" [sic] (p. 6).

In the second chapter, Natalya Ketenci questions the importance of nuclear energy for Turkiye and investigates how Turkiye might benefit from the Russian experience in nuclear energy. Despite the disadvantages of nuclear energy, such as nuclear waste and accidents like Chornobyl, the chapter argues that it is the most appropriate alternative for producing electricity in Turkiye due to its sustainability and ecological friendliness. After concluding that Turkiye...