Republican candidates grapple with escaping the shadow of Trump
The candidates competing to clinch the Republican Party's nominee for the 2024 presidential election faced the voters in the first debate of the primary season on Wednesday night. Former President Trump, who is significantly ahead in public opinion polls, did not participate in the debate, allowing the other candidates to vie for attention. Former Vice President Mike Pence and former UN Representative Nikki Haley delivered standout performances in the debate, where Trump's influence was felt on almost every issue. Although these two candidates had served in the Trump administration, they refrained from directly criticizing the former president, even though they garnered applause from the audience, many of whom had paid to attend.
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What is at stake behind Fidan’s visit to Iraq?
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan paid an important visit to Iraq between Aug. 22-24. Iraq is one of the most strategic countries in the neighboring geography for Türkiye in terms of the fight against terrorism, energy geopolitics, economic relations, internal stability and rivalry between the countries in the region. Therefore, Fidan’s visit is quite critical before President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's expected visit to Iraq.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Budapest on Sunday, along with heads of state and government from the Turkic states, the Balkans and Qatar, on the occasion of Hungary's national day.
Türkiye has continued where it left off after the last presidential and parliamentarian elections. The Turkish political leadership has been continuously struggling to increase its strategic autonomy in international politics and to build different axes of stability in regions, reflecting its multilateral foreign policy understanding. When looking at the most recent visit to Ankara and Turkish visits to other countries, we can see that Türkiye will continue to invest in regionalism and minilateralism in the near future.
Money lost to interest payments creates debt burdens and shrinks public resources that could be channeled into development-friendly areas.
One might reasonably expect the "change" debate within the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to die down since Ekrem Imamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, announced his decision to seek reelection in next year’s municipal elections – instead of running for CHP chairperson. The main opposition party continues to elect its provincial delegates yet it seems almost certain that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the incumbent, will be able to keep his job with no major problems. That is why he should find it easier to set his party’s agenda, but the CHP will presumably remain preoccupied with internal confrontations.
The limits of US-China economic rivalry
The intense global economic rivalry between the US and China is leading to a fierce competition, particularly in the advanced technology sector. While Washington imposes measures to limit the export of high-tech products to China, Beijing is not sitting idle. A recent example is Intel, the giant US computer chip producer, retracting its decision to acquire Israel's semiconductor chip manufacturer, Tower Semiconductor. Intel had initially planned to acquire Tower to remain competitive in chip manufacturing and had obtained approval from American authorities. However, after waiting for 18 months without approval from Chinese authorities, Intel was forced to announce the cancellation of the acquisition. Intel, which generates 27% of its global revenues from China, avoiding jeopardizing this relationship, demonstrates how complex the economic battle between the US and China has become.
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Not Erdoğan, Kılıçdaroğlu is real rival of Imamoğlu
Whereas Imamoğlu’s decision de-escalated tensions around the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the main opposition party, pro-opposition columnists curiously interpreted that move as a challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It goes without saying that any politician would enjoy being compared to the Turkish leader, who has been in charge for 21 years and just secured another five years in office. By the same token, opposition leaders tend to criticize Erdoğan as part of their job, enjoying (openly or secretly) whenever he talks about them in his public appearances.
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For a considerable period, Türkiye and Syria have engaged in discussions aimed at reshaping their bilateral relationship into a new framework. Most recently, a diplomatic meeting took place in Moscow in April involving foreign ministers from both countries, along with Russia and Iran. However, since April, the trajectory of these talks has become increasingly uncertain. This uncertainty has been shaped by the complex nature of the Syrian conflict, the divergent priorities of the external actors, the strategically ambiguous behavior of the Bashar Assad regime and the lack of capacity of the state of Syria. Other dynamics exist that make the talks between Türkiye and Syria more difficult to reach the real objectives of the negotiations process.
After Wagner's mutiny, Russia, which had consolidated its presence in Africa through Wagner, will have to revise its Africa policy.
Established to tackle the political and economic crises of the 1990s, the AK Party encountered many challenges. It opted for what was possible and rational as opposed to ideology to skillfully analyze the future of world politics.
