Experts Respond: The Upheaval in Iran | The Protests, Which Erupted Following Mahsa Amini’s Death in Detention, in Their Third Week
We asked the leading Iran experts in Turkey and around the world to analyze the reasons behind the protests in Iran, the demands of the protestors, the Iranian administration’s attitude, the likely future of the protests and their impact on Iran. We present the assessments of those experts below.
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Erdoğan’s historical visits to Samarkand and New York
‘Samarkand and New York summits have shown Türkiye’s determination of following an independent, diversified and global-scale foreign policy’
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The West’s policy of otherization and alienation toward Türkiye, a 70-year NATO member, especially in the regional crises of Syria, EastMed and Karabakh is the result of Ankara’s claim for regional leadership and an autonomous global status
As Türkiye learns to use its soft power along with its military might, it continues to pursue a successful foreign policy and a role as a regional leader
A power struggle is ramping up between the leaders of the country's two rival governments
We reached out to several experts for more on how to understand the developments in Iraq and what possible future scenarios may be derived from the current situation.
Insight Turkey Publishes Its Latest Issue “Rethinking Environmental Security in Türkiye and Beyond”
We are confident that this issue of Insight Turkey entitled “Rethinking Environmental Security in Türkiye and Beyond” will present timely studies regarding environmental security, a complex and increasingly important issue for Türkiye and the world.
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Grain corridor, summits and Türkiye's policy
'The Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports' was concluded at Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace on July 22, with Turkey and the United Nations serving as mediators.
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Türkiye has pursued normalization with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel and Saudi Arabia over the last two years, which enabled that country to strengthen its bilateral cooperation with the participants of both summits.
Starting the end of 2020, the Middle East has witnessed an unprecedented de-escalation among its key regional rivals. Several major players, including Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Israel, the UAE, and Qatar, have been reaching out to one another to reconcile and normalize relations, thus signaling a regional reset
U.S. President Joe Biden paid a three-day official visit to the Middle East between July 13-16 in order to renew its engagement with the region and strengthen its strategic partnership with the regional allies.
Following the Arab Spring, all the nations in the Middle East started to pursue a phase of regional softness after a protracted era of strife and rivalry. In many areas of the Middle East, the normalization agenda is being implemented in a coordinated manner based on specific concerns.
Under the current circumstances, it seems impossible for the U.S. to discover a new kind of engagement that would contain Russia and China in the Middle East as well as address Iran’s problems with Israel and the Gulf. It is highly likely that the fresh diplomatic efforts by Washington, which cannot even appreciate Türkiye’s balancing and stabilizing/securing role, will prove to be a complete waste of time.
US President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East reassures regional allies of continued engagement, but it is unlikely to mobilize them around US goals
The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to reshape the international balance of power. In this new era, Türkiye distinguishes itself thanks to its diplomatic activity. Indeed, the country has been so important that the Western media, which constantly refer to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as “the sultan,” cannot help but concede that cooperation with Türkiye is absolutely necessary. Surely enough, all eyes turned to Erdoğan when the world needed a broker between Russia and Ukraine, someone needed to create a "grain corridor" in the Black Sea and when Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership.
The main source of disagreement between Türkiye's government and the opposition relates to which side could govern better. Alternatively, it is about the claim that the opposite side cannot govern properly. As Türkiye inches toward next year’s elections, that theme dominates domestic politics week in and week out.
The opposition has been criticizing the memorandum that Turkey signed with Sweden and Finland at the NATO summit in Madrid. Their main argument is that the government bowed to pressure and made concessions.
The visit had global-level dynamics. On one hand, both countries want to decrease their respective dependencies on global powers and need to cooperate with one another. On the other hand, they want to increase their global autonomy. They have begun to instrumentalize a global power against the other.
Türkiye’s influence has been growing, globally and regionally, as a balancing power. In this sense, Ankara must refrain from becoming a party to regional polarization while remaining active in the region.
Türkiye emerges as a power that generates stability and security in its neighborhood – Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East, the Gulf and North Africa.
Ankara hopes to be a balancing factor in the region that generates security and stability.
