A New Security Understanding for Europe

Europe proved to be extremely ineffective and inefficient in dealing with the refugee crises, and to not perpetuate its mistakes it needs to adopt a new security framework to deal with the increasing threat of terrorism

More
A New Security Understanding for Europe
Declinism Debate and Elections In the US

Declinism, Debate and Elections In the US

For the last few elections we started to see a gradual decline in the level and capacity of some of the debates between presidential candidates.

More

Turkey seems unwilling to tolerate the situation in Syria any longer precisely because the creation of a PYD-controlled area across the southern border could create a long-term national security threat.

The HDP made significant progress in the political arena, but it must keep in mind that a toxic mix of violence and cross-national alliances will not secure legal status for their voters.

To cover his relation with DAESH, which came to light when Turkey downed the Russian jet for violating its airspace, Putin, with false evidence, accused Turkey of supporting the terror organization.

A new-start discourse in U.S.-Russia relations, which contributed greatly to Obama's victory in the Nov. 4 elections in 2008, is now leaving a bad memory in minds as Obama's last days in office approach.

US Role in the World and Debates for Next President

These new challenges and debates about the U.S.'s role in the world will need to be handled by the next U.S. president, who will have a major debate on his or her hands and the debates to respond.

More
US Role in the World and Debates for Next President
Western Double Standards and Erdoğan's Victory Democracy is Geopolitics in

Western Double Standards and Erdoğan's Victory: Democracy is Geopolitics in the Middle East

It might be a quite saddening but crystal clear truth that democratic values, principles and institutions that claim to be universal do not apply to Western perceptions of political development in Turkey or the Middle East in general.

More

The U.S. and Russia, two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, have been caught fighting a proxy war in Syria on the pretext of fighting international terrorism.

American administration does not want a serious role in Iraq anymore, at least not under Obama's leadership. The next president should volunteer to make serious political investments and be a sponsor for the political rapprochement in Iraq. Without a rapprochement in Iraq and Syria, the chaos will continue and ISIS will make use of it to last longer.

Prime Minister Erdogan’s December 7th White House meeting with President Obama re-emphasized theimportance of Turkey to both the United States and its Western allies. A variety of foreign policy issues such as Afghanistan, Iran, and Israel-Palestine were discussed with the emphasis placed on how much American and Turkish interests converge and potential areas of cooperation

Turkey might play a role in reintegrating the Iranian state into the international system. Turkey’s initiatives may have a moderating influence on the Iranian state and would, in any case, be a better policy route to choose rather than a direct confrontation.Turkey might play a role in reintegrating the Iranian state into the international system. Turkey’s initiatives may have a moderating influence on the Iranian state and would, in any case, be a better policy route to choose rather than a direct confrontation. It is a good sign for Iran and Turkey that the volume of trade between the two countries increased from $1.3 billion in 2002 to $10 billion in 2008. Iran is also be seen as a natural gateway by the Turkish state in order to reach into the markets of Central Asia and Pakistan. These kinds of Turkish political and economic initiatives will not only serve the interests of the Turkish and Iranian states but also have the potential to replace the aggressive military rhetoric of Western countries in dealing with Iran if the ultimate aim is to re-include Iran into the world economy and moderate its behavior. In addition, a more peaceful future for Iraq depends on reintegrating Iran with the rest of the world. Hence, the wiser course of action for western countries is to follow the Turkish example of engagement with Iran using diplomacy rather than issuing military and economic threats

Prof. Efraim Inbar - whose works on Turkish-Israeli relations deserve much credit - recently wrote an op-ed piece "An open letter to my Turkish friends" in The Jerusalem Post in which he paints a grotesque picture of Turkey's new foreign policy vision and domestic political developments. It misleadingly confines the multi-dimensional Turkish foreign policy vision to politics of ideology that is reminiscent of the Cold War years.

Turkish-Russian relations have been transformed in a unique way since the late 1990s. Ever increasing economic relations have paved way for better political relations, bringing cooperation perspectives to fore while having competing agendas at the same time. The past several years witnessed confidence building between the countries as the relationship rose to the level of a multi-dimensional partnership; however, there are also ideational and material factors that limit Russian-Turkish partnership. The future of multi-dimensional partnership will largely depend on both countries’ ability to set a strong structural base for mutual and long-term beneficiary relationship.

During a visit to the United States that preceded President Barack Obama's visit to Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, chief advisor to Turkey's prime minister, stated that "Our approach and principles are almost the same, very similar to the US on issues such as the Middle East, Caucasus, Balkans and energy security.

After back-to-back visits to Turkey by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Ahmet Davutoglu, a top adviser to Turkey's prime minister, predicted that Turkish-American relations were about to enter a golden era

Turkey’s new seat in the UNSC marks a historic achievement for Turkish foreign policy since 1961. Turkish diplomatic corps around the world and political leaders have lobbied towards this end since 2003.

Joe Biden was selected as Barack Obama’s vice presidential candidate largely because of his expertise in foreign policy.  Traditionally, in U.S. politics, Dick Cheney-like strong vice presidents are exception, not the rule. It is wiser to focus on Obama’s foreign policy outlook rather than Biden’s, which would benefit Turkey in the long run with its realistic tendencies. Biden’s voting pattern, as it is displayed in three different issues (Cyprus-Armenian Issue-Iraq) does not seem friendly to the Turkish position. However, Biden as a statesman would not create extra problems for Turkey at the expense of U.S national interests. In all of these issues, the person that should be watched carefully is Obama, not Biden. Spending more energy to analyze Obama’s geopolitical priorities can benefit Turkey in the long run.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a Turkish world from the “Adriatic Sea to the Chinese Wall” became a new topic of discussion in Turkish policy circles. While Turkey tried to develop close political, economic and cultural relations with the newly independent Central Asian Republics, the mid and late 1990s witnessed a steady decline in the relations and failed to produce any concrete results. With its new foreign policy outlook, Turkey is seeking to increase its field of sphere in Central Asia by revitalizing its efforts to reconnect with the sister Turkish states. Security, economic cooperation, energy and civil society initiatives are the new dynamics of the Turkish-Central Asian relations.