We should counter both the root causes of violent extremism and Western prejudice of Muslim communities

To be clear, Ghannouchi's identification of Ennahda as a movement of Muslim democrats represents an alternative to violent groups, including al-Qaida and DAESH, which exert considerable influence over young people.

Iraq and Syria will haunt Obama's legacy in the future and, for many, the emergence and rise of DAESH and failure to destroy the organization will also leave a stain

The overdue EU attempt to find a solution to the Syrian civil war and its resulting crises, aided by Ankara, is an opportunity for European values to end the ambiguity of its stance

Although Ankara highlights the significance of not being a part of a sectarian war to avoid increasing ideological polarization in the Middle East, it stands closer to Riyadh than Tehran.

Ankara, one of the most geopolitically significant players in the Middle East, is determined to take a neutral path on the Saudi-Iranian conflict, yet still, in the near future, a strategic alliance between Ankara and Riyadh rather than Tehran, seems more likely.

Conspiracy theories are instruments of creative thinking. Yet, there is a huge difference between creative thinking and insisting on selective facts that only align with a theory.

SETA’s public seminar “Seeking Justice And Accountability: Rights Abuses And The Arab Uprisings” brought together Joe Stork and Jan Egeland of Human Rights Watch to discuss human rights in foreign policy making, and efforts to advocate for human rights and influence regimes like that in Syria which has turned a deaf ear to calls to end the brutal clampdown on demonstrators.

On January 14, 2011, Ben Ali fled Tunisia after 23 years in power, signaling the end of the distorted regional order in the Middle East and North Africa.

 SETA-DC PANEL DISCUSSION  Chair:     Kadir Ustun, SETA-DC   Speakers: Daniel Levy, New America Fnd. Stevn A. Cook, Council on F.R. Erol Cebeci,SETA-DC  Date: September 19, 2011 Monday  Venue: SETA-DC, Washington

Once Turkey considers and comes to terms with the challenge of formulating a new political language, it can rise to the level it aspires to as a new actor in a new region and in a new global order.

Public demands for structural change in North Africa and the Middle East has brought Turkey to the global stage within a new context.

SETA PANEL DISCUSSION Chair:       Bulent Aras, Bulent ARAS, SETA, Coordinator, Foreign Policy Studies Panelists:        Robert Malley, International Crisis Group, Middle East and North Africa Program Director     Joost Hiltermann, International Crisis Group, Deputy Program Director, Middle East and North Africa     Peter Harling, International Crisis Group, Project Director (Iraq, Lebanon and Syria) Date: March 12, 2010 Friday Time: 13.00 – 14.15 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara

There is much talk about political Islam and its future these days. The ascendancy of political movements with clear Islamic agendas is being watched closely from Egypt and Lebanon to North Africa.