The Broken Periphery

For half a century, Turkey and Israel were the Middle East’s unlikely partners: two outsiders who found each other useful. Turkey recognized Israel in 1949. In the 1990s their militaries signed cooperation agreements, their pilots trained together over Anatolia, and trade boomed. Today Turkish and Israeli forces operate across Syria, Iranian missiles have streaked toward Turkish airspace, and the two governments trade charges of genocide and empire. What broke the periphery? Zahir Hasan begins from first principles: what states want, how power works, and why fear feeds on itself. Drawing on scholarship, official records, and reporting through October 2026, he shows how three forces broke the partnership together: politics at home in both countries, the war in Gaza and the Palestinian question behind it, and the collapse of the states that once stood between Turkish and Israeli power. Inside you will find: - The full history, from the 1949 recognition and the secret periphery pact to the golden decade of the 1990s, the Mavi Marmara, and the repair that almost happened in 2023 - The great rupture of 2023 to 2026: Gaza, the trade embargo that leaks, the collision in Syria, the wars with Iran, and the contest over the Eastern Mediterranean - A clear-eyed account of Israel’s military reach and its costs, and of Turkey’s industrial rise and its dependence on NATO - An evidence ledger in every narrative chapter separating what is established from what is still uncertain - Critical tests of the popular explanations, a panel of seven expert perspectives, four scenarios to 2030, and a decision analysis of six options - A concrete program of managed rivalry, with model texts for an incident-prevention memorandum and a joint statement on restoring ambassadors Balanced, accessible, and practical, The Broken Periphery is for students, diplomats, analysts, investors, and citizens who want to understand one of the most dangerous rivalries in the Middle East, and what can be done about it.