Syria today is a place where cities are being annihilated, tens of thousands civilians are being massacred, and hundreds of thousands are forced to become refugees.

Russia is now about to pay the cost for its decision to invest in al-Assad -- a decision Russia has difficulty justifying even to itself.

The round table underlined the significance of Russia and Iran in the Syrian crisis, while highlighting the inefficiency of regional and international organizations.

The massacre in Houla last week demonstrated once again that not much has changed since the uprisings started in Syria. The Baathist regime continues to kill in front of the whole world.

SETA’s public seminar “Seeking Justice And Accountability: Rights Abuses And The Arab Uprisings” brought together Joe Stork and Jan Egeland of Human Rights Watch to discuss human rights in foreign policy making, and efforts to advocate for human rights and influence regimes like that in Syria which has turned a deaf ear to calls to end the brutal clampdown on demonstrators.

On January 14, 2011, Ben Ali fled Tunisia after 23 years in power, signaling the end of the distorted regional order in the Middle East and North Africa.

INSIGHT TURKEY DEBATES   Chair:     İhsan Dağı, Insight Turkey    Speakers:    Kemal Kirişci, Boğaziçi University     Alper Dede, Zirve University      Date: June 2, 2011 Thursday  Saat: 14.00-16.00  Venue: SETA, Ankara

Despite a historical affinity between Israelis, Turks, strong interaction between people, NGOs, think-tanks was never established, that’s exactly what we need.

Once Turkey considers and comes to terms with the challenge of formulating a new political language, it can rise to the level it aspires to as a new actor in a new region and in a new global order.

Turkey's foreign minister talks about  how the region has rediscovered its sense of possessing a common destiny.  

Turkey’s mediation efforts in the most recent political crisis in Lebanon in January 2011 are driven by the assessment that a possible conflict would directly threaten Turkey’s interests.

One often gets this question from academics and experts: What will be the framework of international relations in the 21st century? Will it be determined by "hard instruments" such as energy, security and population?

The 2009 Gaza massacre is not the first incident where Israel has killed, pillaged and destroyed Palestinian lives. In 1982 the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) under Ariel Sharon allowed the killing of more than 2,000 Palestinians in two Palestinian refugee camps in Sabra and Shatila.  

The "A Common Word Between Us and You" initiative was the subject of a major conference at the Yale Divinity School last week.

Turkish policymakers exhibit a high degree of self-confidence and willingness to pursue intensive diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East. Turkey pursues a multi-dimensional policy line to foster peace and stability in the region, and has already enjoyed some degree of success. Turkish policymakers seek to utilize Turkey’s good relations with Syria and Israel to wield an influence on these countries to facilitate Israeli-Syrian negotiations. The increasing level of trust to Turkey’s new image of civil-economic power in the Middle East and the U.S. support for Turkey’s potential contribution to chronic problems of the region have made Turkey a potential mediator in the decades-long Syrian-Israeli conflict.

For those who are serious about the United Nations Alliance of Civilization initiative chaired by the prime ministers of Turkey and Spain, I have a suggestion: Give a new start to the initiative by lifting the sanctions on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). This will send a powerful message to the Turkish people as well as other Muslim countries that the Europeans and Americans are serious about improving their relations with the Islamic world. Last week, the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICFY) held its first international advisory board meeting in Kyrene/Girne, northern Cyprus. The theme of the meeting was “Youth for the Alliance of Civilizations.” The meeting was opened by a keynote address by Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Turgay Avci, who emphasized the significance of the fact that such a meeting was taking place in northern Cyprus. He also reiterated the Turkish Cypriot people’s will to help create a united island and integrate with the rest of the world.  

Iraq is like a miniature of the Middle East with its population structure and social characteristics. Each domestic actor in Iraq has relations with ethnic and religious groups in the neighboring countries.