The Political Implications of the June 2011 Elections
SETA PANEL DISCUSSION Chair: Taha Özhan, SETA Panelists: Ali Çarkoğlu, Sabancı Univ. Cengiz Çandar, Radikal Yavuz Baydar, Sabah Date: June 15, 2011 Wednesday Time: 14.00-16.00 Venue: SETA, Ankara
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A New Israel-Turkey Relationship
Despite a historical affinity between Israelis, Turks, strong interaction between people, NGOs, think-tanks was never established, that’s exactly what we need.
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Turkey's foreign minister talks about how the region has rediscovered its sense of possessing a common destiny.
Political demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt have sparked a century old discussion: Is Turkey a model for the Middle East?
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed in Ankara that Hosni Mubarak should listen to the demands of the Egyptian people.
Israel so preoccupied with who should stay in power in Turkey, that they cannot read what is really happening in Turkish domestic politics.
Election Results in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Between Hope and Despair
There are many reasons to be hopeful about the election results in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After a very long time the Social Democratic Party (SDP) received the highest number of votes in the Bosniak-Croat Federation, and on the state level pulling in interethnic votes by re-electing Ivo Komsic, the Croat member of the Presidency. The election of Bakir Izetbegovic, the son of the legendary leader of the Bosniak independence movement, Alija Izetbegovic, is also a positive development. Bakir Izetbegovic is considered a moderate compared to the former Bosniak member of the Presidency, Haris Silajdzic, who regularly spoke of putting an end to Republika Srpska, further straining relations between Sarajevo and Banja Luka.
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Time to Promote Sovereignty in Gaza
The “Lieberman Plan” aims at removing Israel’s “effective control” over Gaza, without compromising Israeli security or intruding upon its own sovereignty.
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On May 31, 2010, Israeli commandos stormed a passenger ship, the Mavi Marmara, the largest boat of a flotilla of six boats which were carrying 10000 tons of humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza, in international high waters. The operation left 9 activists dead and over 30 activists wounded. The flotilla attack started a new trend for Turkish-Israeli relations. For the first time in history, Turkish citizens were directly exposed to Israeli aggression. In this sense, the attack constitutes a break in Turkish-Israeli relations. It is now not only Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians that will shape the nature of Turkish-Israeli relations, more than anything else, but it is Israel’s steps towards salvaging bilateral relations by reassuring the Turkish nation and state.
SETA PUBLIC LECTURE By Alon Ben-Meir, Professor of International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies at the Center for Global Affairs, New York University Date: January 14, 2010 Thursday Time: 11.00 – 12.30 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara
Since 2000, relations regained its historically fluctuating pattern and this continues to characterize the nature of relations between Turkey and Israel today. When Turkish-Israeli relations were formalized in March 28, 1949, Turkey became the first Muslim state to recognize the state of Israel; however, relations were kept at a minimum level for decades. From 1949 to the early 1990s, relations were very fragile and followed a fluctuating pattern. This pattern was replaced by the “honeymoon years” starting from the late 1990’s. The late 1990s marked by the soft coup of 1997, also known as the “February 28 Process,” constituted an exception in the pattern and level of relations between Turkey and Israel. Since 2000, relations regained its historically fluctuating pattern and this continues to characterize the nature of relations between Turkey and Israel today.
SETA Washington D.C. hosted FM of the Republic of Turkey His Excellency Ahmet Davutoglu. Davutoglu delivered a keynote speech entitled " Principles of Turkish Foreign Policy" followed by a panel discussion on "Changing Direction? Discussing Turkish Foreign Policy" featuring Taha Ozhan, Director General of SETA Foundation, Cengiz Candar, Senior Columnist for Radikal Newspaper, Prof. Bulent Aras of SETA Foundation, and Prof. Fuat Keyman of Koc University. December 8, 2009 Grand Ballroom, Mayflower Hotel, Washington D.C. 12.15pm EST
Prime Minister Erdogans December 7th White House meeting with President Obama re-emphasized theimportance of Turkey to both the United States and its Western allies.
President Obama's trip to Turkey April 6-7 is undoubtedly significant. The visit follows Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip abroad last month, which included two separate bilateral stops, Israel and Turkey.
SETA CONFERNCE By Eduard Soler and Fadela Hilali The CIDOB Foundation Mediterranean Programme Date: January 22, 2009 Thursday Time: 10.00 – 12.00 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara
SETA PUBLIC LECTURE Speakers: H.E. Mr. Nabil Maaruf Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey İbrahim Kalın SETA, Director General Ayşe Karabat Today's Zaman Columnist Date: January 9, 2009 Friday Time: 10.00 – 12.00 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara
According to a Herald Tribune report ("Young Iraqis are Losing their Faith in Religion," March 3, 2008), Iraqi youth are losing their religious faith.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül’s visit to the White House, his first such visit to the US as president and the first visit by a Turkish president in 11 years, comes at a time when US-Turkish relations have taken a new turn.
