The Biden administration is struggling to formulate a comprehensive and effective China policy. While the Trump era saw constant pressure on China, attempting to limit its sphere of influence, the Biden administration embarked on a path of both competition and cooperation. Despite a general consensus across both parties about the need for the United States to contend with China, it is evident that crafting a concrete and effective China policy remains challenging. The planned visit of Secretary of State Blinken to China in February, expected to ease the escalating tensions and establish a "constructive" framework, was postponed due to the strain caused by the "spy balloon" incident, further highlighting the fragility and lack of trust in the relationship. However, there is no indication of any tangible outcome achieved during Blinken's visit.

The Ukrainian forces are launching a counteroffensive, aiming to achieve a decisive result and bring an end to the Russian occupation. However, due to their lack of air superiority, they risk suffering significant losses in this attack. The outcome of this offensive will determine whether discussions about the end of the war can begin or if the conflict will prolong for years to come.

Turkish foreign policy is faced with the task of preserving the gains it has made in various critical issues, from Libya to Azerbaijan, Ukraine to the Eastern Mediterranean, while improving economic relations with Europe, increasing effectiveness within NATO, and managing the impacts of global power shifts.

Türkiye faced a historic election on May 14. In accordance with the presidential government system, both the presidential election and the 28th-term parliamentary general election were held on the same day. According to the results announced by the Supreme Election Council (YSK), the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which received 35.6% of the votes and 268 deputies, finished ahead in the general election. All four parties of the People’s Alliance, with a total of 322 deputies, received 49.4% of the vote, outperforming the Nation Alliance by about 15 points. Thus, the will to represent the nation in Parliament until 2028 has been finalized.

What international media have dubbed “the world’s most important election in 2023” is less than a week away. Whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu wins will have wide-ranging implications.

The United States has shown a close and dangerous interest in Taiwan in recent years in order to break the power of China, with which it is in global competition in almost every field, and to confine China to the Indo-Pacific region. If the two great powers with nuclear weapons try to solve this problem with war, of course, it will lead the whole world to disaster. However, according to the Realist school in the International Relations literature, it is thought that these powers will not directly attempt war, based on the prediction that if a nuclear power attacks another nuclear power, both sides will be destroyed. Based on this thesis, we can say that the probability of a direct U.S.-China war is unlikely.

Considering the devastating effects of new-generation weapons, global powers cannot launch direct wars against each other. Therefore, they prefer to engage in indirect battles, as the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, did during the Cold War. Their proxies fight each other; they control the tide of the war from behind closed doors by procuring military equipment and by providing economic and financial assistance to wage war.

The West's inability to gain support from the global South, its military capacity being weakened, concerns about its inability to handle China's intervention in Taiwan, and the lack of probability of taking back Donbas and Crimea, strengthens the arguments that support for Ukraine should be proportional to a political objective.

Although the Western-American global hegemony is obsolete, no non-Western state wants to claim the global hegemony, mainly due to the burden and responsibility that comes with this claim.

The Biden administration has taken a symbolic yet significant step regarding the F-16 issue.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will run against each other in the 2023 presidential race in Türkiye. It will all boil down to one of the two leading candidates winning over undecided voters. That’s why I believe the final weeks to be extremely important and the race to be head-to-head.

French President Emmanuel Macron's statements after his visit to China, where he was received with state ceremonies, regarding Europe's need to reduce its dependency on the U.S. and not take sides in a conflict between China and the U.S. over Taiwan, has caused a stir in Washington. Macron's assertion that Europe needs to gain "strategic autonomy" and that the greatest risk in achieving this is "getting involved in crises that do not belong to us" has been interpreted as a disagreement between France and the U.S. on the issue of Taiwan. While it is difficult to say that the concept of strategic autonomy has broad support throughout Europe, it is clear that the U.S.-Europe alliance is not on the same page. Although the Biden administration has managed to keep the transatlantic alliance together on the issue of Ukraine, it will be much more difficult to maintain the same unity in the event of a possible invasion of Taiwan.

Today, we are living in a systemic transition period in which the world is experiencing an international systemic crisis. Deep uncertainty and instability have been dominating the global system. The rivalry between global powers has been intensifying every day. Unfortunately, there is no established international order and no stable relationship between even members of the same alliance. Most hostilities and friendships are temporary; relations between any two states can change quickly.

Until very recently, China had mainly maintained a neutral stance toward political developments in other countries. However, this approach has shifted as Beijing has begun to manifest its hard power and exert more influence in regional and international politics, especially after the successful mediation by China between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is a clear indication of the growing Chinese political effectiveness. Moreover, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Moscow exemplifies this change in perspective on world politics. The visit was historic since it shed light on an alternative discourse surrounding the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Syrian regime is using earthquake diplomacy to gain more legitimacy and accelerate the normalization process in the region. Following the earthquake, Egyptian Foreign Minister Shukri met with Assad in Damascus and delivered humanitarian aid to Syria through the regime. The day after the visit of the UAE Foreign Minister al-Nahyan, who is trying to lead the normalization process with Syria, Assad allowed UN aid teams to cross into opposition-controlled areas of Syria. It is no secret that many Arab countries, including the UAE and Egypt, prefer normalizing ties with the Syrian regime. Although the American administration has expressed its opposition to normalization efforts with the Assad regime in the region, there is no indication of serious pressure being exerted on this issue.

Natural disasters, wars, and economic collapse tend to seriously undermine social order and make it impossible to address even people’s most basic needs. During such periods, it becomes difficult for communities to feed themselves, find shelter, receive medical attention, relocate, and communicate with others. Individuals and communities have provided emergency assistance to such individuals, without expecting anything in return, to address basic needs like food, shelter, and medical treatment throughout history.

The meetings held by the Turkish delegation during their visit to Washington earlier this week once again showed how necessary constant dialogue is due to the busy agenda of Turkish-American relations. Apart from bilateral issues, Türkiye and the United States need to step up their efforts in order to work together on regional and global issues. It is no secret that there are issues where the two NATO allies do not agree or, worse yet, pursue opposing policies. However, many challenges such as hot war, food crisis, energy, great power rivalry and climate change make it all the more necessary to focus on shared interests.