Simon Waldman

Simon A. Waldman is a visiting research fellow at King’s College London, where he was previously a lecturer in Middle Eastern studies. Simon’s research focuses on international diplomacy toward the Middle East, US and British foreign policy, state building in the Middle East, Turkish history and politics, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Waldman is the co-author (with Emre Caliskan) of the recently published book The New Turkey and Its Discontents (Hurst/Oxford University Press), described by reviewers as “probably the best volume in English out there” written with “an impressive array of empirical material.” Waldman’s previous book was Anglo-American Diplomacy and the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1948-1951 (Palgrave MacMillan, 2015), an analysis and explanation of how the great powers tried and failed to solve one of the world’s longest lasting refugee questions.

Waldman appears regularly on the international media discussing current affairs including networks such as CNN, Bloomberg, Monocle Radio, and the BBC. He writes regular opinion pieces and commentaries for Haaretz, the Globe and Mail, Middle East Eye, and Prospect Magazine. Simon read for a BSc (hon) in Politics and Sociology at Brunel University before obtaining his MA and PhD from the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, King’s College London.

Project: “Beyond the European Union? The Future of British-Turkish Relations”

The United Kingdom is entering an age of uncertainty while in it is the process of leaving the European Union. London is seeking to remedy this uncertainty by diversifying its portfolio of international relations. Turkey was one of the first countries London identified as holding an important place in Britain’s post-EU international orientation. Although for different reasons, Turkey, like Britain, is also frustrated with its relationship with Europe and is seeking to broaden its engagement with states and international bodies outside of the EU. Recently, both London and Ankara expressed the intention to not only increase trade, but to also forge a “strategic partnership.” But can London and Ankara really form such an alliance beyond the bounds of the EU?

This project will utilize primary data and consist of interviews with major British, Turkish, and European stakeholders and policy makers. The research will identify speedbumps in the road to greater British-Turkish cooperation in matters pertaining to trade, diplomacy, and strategic affairs. It will explain the EU factor in British-Turkish relations and assess the extent to which the EU, in one form or another, might still remain the tie that binds Britain and Turkey together for the foreseeable future.