Deliberate categorizations such as the ‘Fragile Five' constitute part of the soft power mechanism intended to keep global capital away from Turkey and constitute financial pressure on Turkish policy makers

Turkey, Russia and Iran's in detail discussions to find a solution to the Syrian civil war in Sochi may discomfort those whose policies only aim to deepen the crisis

The new Saudi administration changing King Abdullah's 'engagement to the world' policy isolates Saudi Arabia in the region and risks its position in global balances

It seems that a strong power struggle among the grandsons of King Abdulaziz ibn Saud will determine the future of the country. The killing of his two grandsons and the confiscation of financial assets of leading businessmen for sure will have implications for Saudi politics in the near future.

In retrospect, this neo-medieval order did not emerge by happenstance or as a result of sporadic developments, but as a result of a deliberate, flexible and long-term regional transformation strategy conducted by the U.S. and its interlocutors.

The growing rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which recently caused Lebanese PM Hariri to resign, will soon impact others in the region, too

Trump's visit to five countries in Asia is a good opportunity for the U.S. to restore diplomatic ties with regional countries

The West does not seem to be bothered much about the rising tide of micro-nationalism in the Middle East, which is categorically perceived as an endemic conflict zone

Despite the push to present Meral Akşener, the chairwoman of the newly established İYİ Party, as an alternative candidate against President Erdoğan in the run up to the 2019 presidential elections, Professor Duran thinks this will not translate into results, as a true candidate for the opposition parties is yet to be identified

Decision by the U.S. administration and Congress will have a variety of ramifications for politics in the Middle East and U.S. relations with its partners in the nuclear deal. Remember that actions of the U.S. administration will be judged with U.S. actions and inactions that have taken place in recent years in the Middle East.

Should we interpret the recent rapprochement between Ankara and Moscow or Tehran and Baghdad as a sign of Turkey's strategic axis shift toward Eurasia? Certainly not

The neo-medieval order in the Middle East creates brand new challenges for policy makers as national, sub-national and trans-national actors are involved in some of the most sophisticated conflicts simultaneously.

Turkish-U.S. relations are going through neither a structural crisis nor conjectural tension. I think relations are experiencing structural tension.

The conflicting interests of all sides in the Catalan referendum could prevent them from reaching a consensus in the near future

The Trump administration, which is still completing its first year, has so far not produced any result other than consolidating Moscow in the Middle East.

Trump’s foreign policy and security team members more or less agree that Iran constituted a major problem for the region.