Turkey's relations with and policies towards the middle east have normally been treated as subsidiary to and less important than its relations with the main European states and the USA. However, over the last two decades they have clearly achieved vastly increased importance and autonomy: in fact, it seems safe to say that Turkey's relations with its middle eastern neighbours now constitute one of the most problematic - and potentially the most dangerous - of the diverse theatres in which Turkish foreign policy is actively engaged. This course examines Turkish policy towards the region in the context of Turkey's wider foreign policy interests and objectives, through successive historical periods, since the 1920s. It is divided into three sections: (i) the historical evolution of Turkish policy towards the region as a whole, from 1918 to the 1990s: (ii) Turkish policy towards four middle eastern actors of particular importance to Turkey: (iii) for the most recent period, Turkish policy before and after the Gulf war of 2003