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

INSIGHT TURKEY DEBATES   Chair:     İhsan Dağı, Insight Turkey    Speakers:    Kemal Kirişci, Boğaziçi University     Alper Dede, Zirve University      Date: June 2, 2011 Thursday  Saat: 14.00-16.00  Venue: SETA, Ankara

Despite a historical affinity between Israelis, Turks, strong interaction between people, NGOs, think-tanks was never established, that’s exactly what we need.

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.

Lebanon is a microcosm of Middle Eastern conflicts, and it has often turned into a battlefield of conflicting regional and international actors.

Israel so preoccupied with who should stay in power in Turkey, that they cannot read what is really happening in Turkish domestic politics.

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

It was a disappointing moment for Turks to learn that the foreign affairs committee of the US House of Representatives has narrowly voted to approve a resolution describing the massacre of more than a million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during the first world war as genocide. Turkey recalled its newly appointed ambassador to Washington, Namık Tan, for consultation a few minutes after the vote. It is no secret that there is an "Armenian question" in Turkish-American relations, which has resulted in a seasonal oscillation in bilateral relations around this time of year for many years.

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 D.C. PANEL   Moderator:     Kadir Üstün     Doctoral Candidate at Columbia University   Speakers:     Taha Özhan     Director-General of the SETA Foundation     Ömer Taşpınar     Brookings Institution Date: December 9, 2009   Venue: SETA D.C. 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite #1106 Washington, D.C.  

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

Today, genetically modified organism (GMO) foods are front and center in the discussion on food sustainability. While some allege that interfering in the genetic makeup of food items such as corn and wheat will be a hazard to human health and jeopardize the future of humankind, others view GMO foods as a ray of hope for impoverished nations. Claims that the world’s population is growing rapidly and that the world’s current food stock will not be able to meet the demands of this new population also affect the debate. Undoubtedly poverty and hunger are significant and life-threatening issues for human beings, and history provides evidence that starvation has wiped out entire generations, permanently transforming the demographic makeup of the earth.

Iraq is like a miniature of the Middle East with its population structure and social characteristics. Each domestic actor in Iraq has relations with ethnic and religious groups in the neighboring countries.