The Arab Uprisings forcing the dictators to step down in the First Wave are to target the transformation of the old order and the establishment in the Second Wave.

In a period where the models of administration for the Islamic world are opened to discussion, the model of one of the rooted movements of the world, the Muslim Brotherhood, is not given an opportunity to be tested.

Unless the Islamists are accepted as legitimate political actors and as long as the Islamism is asaulted as a kind of pathology, democratization will not be possible in any country where the tradition of Islamist politics is an important actor.

On July 3, those who cheerfully dream of Mubarakism without Mubarak have nothing to offer but military rule and bloodshed in the face of the Arab Spring’s inevitable second wave.

By creating restricted political openings, as was the case in the early 1990s, the king intended to coopt some opposition parties, which had been previously excluded from the political system.

The military regime, after having kept its cool during the revolution and the parliamentary elections, went on the offensive right before the presidential elections and intervened in politics.

The people’s peaceful protest is imperative and a national duty, until the army responds and announces its support for the people.”

The only way the U.S. can take a constructive role in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings is to follow a foreign policy that is realistic and geared towards restoring justice.

The majority of those who claim that the Arab Spring has become an Arab Winter due to the violence that erupted in reaction to the obscene movie also happen to think that the Arab Spring itself was a motion picture.

Mohamed Morsi, by forcing the top names of the SCAF to resign, squeezed decades of the Turkish political calendar into a single month. From now on, in its battle against the tutelage regime he will struggle not only to come to power but also be in power.

Turkey should recognize that the neighbors with which it will likely share its longest borders are not Syria and Iraq, but Kurdish political entities.

The statements of government circles, new initiatives taken by the CHP (Republican People’s Party) and the interview with Leyla Zana among others boosted hopes once again.

“Should al-Assad step down, disaster will ensue.” This assumption not only asserts that a region with al-Assad is possible, but it insists that it would in fact be better. Is that really so? 

Egypt has been focused on one issue alone since the overthrow of Mubarak. The subject of the main discussions going on for months now is the elections. 

Reforming Turkey’s education system symbolizes not only an end to weak civilian institutions but also represents an opportunity to bridge the gap between secularists and conservatives in the country.

Moderator: Taha Özhan, President of SETA Foundation    Panelists: Besma Kodmani, Syrian National Council Veniamin Popov, Moscow State Institute of International Relations Kayhan Barzegar, Center for Strategic Research, Iran Basheer Nafi, Al Jazeera Center for Studies  Date/Time: April 3rd, 2012, TUESDAY 10:00-12:00  Venue: SETA Ankara room, ANKARA