Kashmir has been the subject of regional disputes between Pakistan, India and China since the late 1940s. The colonial power divided the Kashmiri territory into three parts, reflecting the infamous divide-and-rule colonial principle. Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave special status to Kashmir, was considered a permanent feature of the Indian Constitution. It also granted the region the right to have a separate constitution, a state flag and large autonomy over the internal affairs of the state. According to the article, the Muslim majority of the region would live under separate laws.

The world is changing, just as once visualized by the Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien. Financial systems, payment systems, and transfers are all going digital. Cash usage is in decline all over the world. As an additional (but totally new generation) payment choice, central bank digital currency (CBDC) is the future of money and payment systems.

Western countries, including politicians, business circles, academia and media, have been insistently and deliberately otherizing and alienating Islam and Muslims for the last three decades. Immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War and the elimination of the communist threat, influential Western circles began to consider Islam and Muslims the main threat to the Western-dominated world hegemony.

France has been facing violent mass protests in the wake of a recent police shooting. The killing of a 17-year-old boy named Nahel, who was of Algerian descent, by French police in Nanterre on June 27 has sparked outrage among the public. The tragic incident has been viewed as a violation of human rights, prompting widespread protests and riots across several cities in France. The response from the public has gone beyond solely addressing this particular incident, reflecting a broader concern over human rights violations and long-time discrimination faced by individuals of migrant origin, particularly those of African descent and Muslims.

The Biden administration is struggling to formulate a comprehensive and effective China policy. While the Trump era saw constant pressure on China, attempting to limit its sphere of influence, the Biden administration embarked on a path of both competition and cooperation. Despite a general consensus across both parties about the need for the United States to contend with China, it is evident that crafting a concrete and effective China policy remains challenging. The planned visit of Secretary of State Blinken to China in February, expected to ease the escalating tensions and establish a "constructive" framework, was postponed due to the strain caused by the "spy balloon" incident, further highlighting the fragility and lack of trust in the relationship. However, there is no indication of any tangible outcome achieved during Blinken's visit.

The world system has undergone a large-scale transition for the last two decades. The ultimate victory of the United States declared after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 lasted only for a decade. In spite of giving an effective answer to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. has been unable to maximize its national interests at the global scale and provide international peace and stability.

The Ukrainian forces are launching a counteroffensive, aiming to achieve a decisive result and bring an end to the Russian occupation. However, due to their lack of air superiority, they risk suffering significant losses in this attack. The outcome of this offensive will determine whether discussions about the end of the war can begin or if the conflict will prolong for years to come.

The participation of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the G-7 summit in Hiroshima holds significant symbolic importance. The choice of Hiroshima sends a message of a nuclear-free world, while Zelenskyy's surprise attendance draws attention to the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons. In addition to this emphasis, the explicit support of G-7 countries for Zelenskyy and President Biden's statement on F-16s also stand out as political developments with a deterrent effect on Russia. By addressing the Taiwan issue, a clear political message was conveyed, making this G-7 meeting the most politically significant so far.

Türkiye will hold a historic election that could influence both regional and global power balances. Under the leadership of President Erdogan over the past 20 years, Türkiye has faced significant challenges and achieved important successes. When looking at Türkiye's role in the international arena, we have seen that it has been managing regional conflicts and global power struggles with its own foreign policy will. The election will have critical results not only for domestic political developments, the economy and security, but also for foreign policy.

The United States has shown a close and dangerous interest in Taiwan in recent years in order to break the power of China, with which it is in global competition in almost every field, and to confine China to the Indo-Pacific region. If the two great powers with nuclear weapons try to solve this problem with war, of course, it will lead the whole world to disaster. However, according to the Realist school in the International Relations literature, it is thought that these powers will not directly attempt war, based on the prediction that if a nuclear power attacks another nuclear power, both sides will be destroyed. Based on this thesis, we can say that the probability of a direct U.S.-China war is unlikely.

The tension in the Indo-Pacific region is escalating day by day due to steps adopted by the United States concerning the Taiwan issue. Washington aims to wear out China, with which it is engaged in global competition, and to besiege it in the Pacific. In light of the latest developments, which pose a high risk in terms of global security and stability, the possibility that the crisis may turn into a war has sparked fear. This has left many to wonder how European countries will react if China decides to attack Taiwan.

Considering the devastating effects of new-generation weapons, global powers cannot launch direct wars against each other. Therefore, they prefer to engage in indirect battles, as the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, did during the Cold War. Their proxies fight each other; they control the tide of the war from behind closed doors by procuring military equipment and by providing economic and financial assistance to wage war.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid an important visit to China and met Chinese President Xi Jinping last week in the shadow of the fierce protests in the streets against the government and its controversial pension reform.

Although the Western-American global hegemony is obsolete, no non-Western state wants to claim the global hegemony, mainly due to the burden and responsibility that comes with this claim.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will run against each other in the 2023 presidential race in Türkiye. It will all boil down to one of the two leading candidates winning over undecided voters. That’s why I believe the final weeks to be extremely important and the race to be head-to-head.

French President Emmanuel Macron's statements after his visit to China, where he was received with state ceremonies, regarding Europe's need to reduce its dependency on the U.S. and not take sides in a conflict between China and the U.S. over Taiwan, has caused a stir in Washington. Macron's assertion that Europe needs to gain "strategic autonomy" and that the greatest risk in achieving this is "getting involved in crises that do not belong to us" has been interpreted as a disagreement between France and the U.S. on the issue of Taiwan. While it is difficult to say that the concept of strategic autonomy has broad support throughout Europe, it is clear that the U.S.-Europe alliance is not on the same page. Although the Biden administration has managed to keep the transatlantic alliance together on the issue of Ukraine, it will be much more difficult to maintain the same unity in the event of a possible invasion of Taiwan.