"Once Allies, Today Frenemies/Rivals: The Ups and Downs of Turkish-American Relations"

Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, occupies a strategic location bridging West Asia and Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; and the Aegean Sea, Greece, and Bulgaria to the west. Turkey is home to over 85 million people; most are ethnic Turks, while ethnic Kurds are the largest ethnic minority. Almost 2 million Syrian refugees reside in Turkey.  Officially a secular state, Turkey has a Muslim-majority population. Ankara is Turkey's capital and second-largest city, while Istanbul is its largest city and economic and financial center.

Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire.  One-party rule ended in 1950, and periods of instability and military coups have rocked the multiparty democracy through the years.  President Erdogan has been in power for more than 20 years.…