The year 2019, which set the stage for extraordinary developments, has now ended. Living the fast life must be the distinguishing feature of modern times. Over the last year, the world talked about Brexit, NATO's future, U.S. President Donald Trump's impeachment, Israeli expansionism, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, protests in Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, France and Bolivia, trade wars, the S-400 deal, Turkey's local elections, the Syrian civil war, Operation Peace Spring, the assassination of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Aramco attacks, Turkey's new indigenous car, Kanal Istanbul, U.S. sanctions, economic recovery, the Eastern Mediterranean and Libya.

There will be a lot of questions about the state of global politics in 2020. The unpredictability and uncertainty of superpower behavior and instability of the international system generate a lot of question marks about the potential developments set to take shape in the coming year. Here are some of the issues and areas that we will continue to watch during 2020.

The title of my last Daily Sabah column from last year was: “Turkey in 2019: From an Emerging Economy to an Emerging Power.” The article showed how, over the course of just one year, Turkey proved that its economy was robust enough to resist the sustained economic and political attacks inflicted upon it over the last several years and that its military is strong enough to influence global multilateral platforms and sit at the negotiation table as an equal partner with some of the most influential global powers, including the United States and Russia.

Despite large-scale developments, changes since start of decade, some problems triggering start of uprisings in Arab countries still exist

Insight Turkey, one of the leading academic journals in Turkey, in its latest issue entitled as “Turkey’s New Foreign Policy: A Quest for Autonomy,” resonates on the importance of Turkey’s increasing role and effectiveness in the international realm.

It is now a well-known fact that the focus of the great power rivalry in international relations is about to shift toward the Asia Pacific. For many observers of world politics, the competition between the U.S. and China on issues ranging from trade to the South China Sea will make this region the center of attention in the next few decades.

Ankara and Washington should work together to overcome mutual problems and the U.S. needs to respect Turkey's national security concerns, experts said Wednesday.

There is an emerging trend of popular protests all over the world. Citizens who are disenchanted by the conventional political system and procedures hit the streets to express their political and economic demands, or at least express their frustrations more vociferously. Especially the younger generations, who are less interested in regular electoral politics, have shown political consciousness in such a distinctive context.

With its anti-terror operations, Turkey thwarts emergence of terror corridor near its borders, says think-tank chief

There were too many controversial issues on the table in President Erdoğan’s recent visit to Washington and the meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington's continuing support for the People's Protection Units (YPG); the S-400 missiles; the situation with the F-35 fighter jets; Washington’s policy on the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and other sanction bills against Turkey are urgent issues for Turkey that need to be tackled constructively by the American authorities. Only a reset in Turkish-American relations can assure a significant change, but the circumstances are not conducive to a reset. For the moment the Democratic Union Party (PYD) issue seems to be the biggest problem leading to constant tensions between the two countries.

The world has been witnessing popular demonstrations across the globe recently. From Chile and Bolivia to Hong Kong, demonstrations have cropped up against governments and ruling elites..

Turkish-American relations are experiencing the heavy burden of Washington's alliance with the People's Protection Units (YPG), as the YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist group, which Turkey has been struggling against for the last four decades. This vision will not change any time soon despite Washington's denial of the PKK-YPG connection. There are many other significant obstacles to the normalization of Turkish-American relations but Washington's flirt with the YPG is the most controversial one.

U.S. President Donald Trump changed his mind about pulling American troops out of Syria – again. The latest reversal of policy reflects the Pentagon's concerns that the U.S. withdrawal will play into the hands of Russia and Iran. The return of U.S. servicemen to Kobani and Qamishli, and the military buildup in eastern Syria suggest that the White House is on board.

President Erdoğan vowed that Turkey will not stop working until Syria completes its reconstruction process

The PKK/YPG threat in the region is far from over, but the group's nationalist project — the so-called 'cantons' — are now dead in the water

The Turkey-US agreement is a great second chance for Washington to reformulate its inconsistent Syria policy

The primary purpose of the Turkish operation is to drive out terrorist groups threatening regional security and secure the area in line with international law