PKK/PYD attacks towards Turks and Turkish buildings in Europe from 01.01.2017 to 15.03.2017

Gulf states face the first real and vital challenge after the outbreak of the Arab Spring but it seems they do not have the capability to handle it

While hegemonic transitions tend to occur over long periods, it seems that the friction between neo-protectionism in strategic sectors and the push for all out liberalization will determine the fundamental axis of the ongoing rivalry between China and the U.S.

As the number of dead YPG militants increases and Turkish-backed forces advance toward the center of Afrin, there will be a more determined effort to limit and ultimately render Operation Olive Branch unsuccessful

As the captains of global capitalism gather in the serene surroundings of Davos, they have a mammoth task to figure out how to maintain liberalism's international relevance in a world fractured by hegemonic conflicts and extreme ideologies

Effective policy coordination and clarified functions are desperately needed from the democratically elected branches of the U.S. government, especially from Congress and the White House, but chances for improvement on those fronts are grim

It is high time for Turkey and the EU to start a new era in bilateral relations, but this time it needs to be based on both sides' interests not only the EU's as it was in the past years

The end of the Cold War made these realities a little more complicated.

The rise of institutional economics brought the quality of participatory social and economic institutions to the fore as a crucial prerequisite for sustainable development, as well as an alleviation of income disparities.

Emerging trends in the European political context, including the rise of nativist nationalism and the emergence of hostile public discourses on immigration, have brought ideas traditionally attributed to the far-right into mainstream discussion, in the process popularising and in some cases ‘normalising’ them in the eyes of particular audiences. Especially since the turn of the new millennium, the discussion on the dynamics of, and threats from, violent radicalisation has received considerable fresh attention since a series of recent terrorist attacks testified to its highly disruptive and destructive potential. Taken together with the appreciable rise in instances of hate speech and in violent incidents against vulnerable groups (Muslim, Jewish, Roma communities; immigrants and refugees, etc.), it is now feared that we may be witnessing a much broader and profound ‘reverse wave’ towards more intolerance, exclusion, and normalisation of violent extremism in contemporary societies.

Turkey's foreign policy had a year of transition and change in 2017.

Although the U.N. General Assembly decision is legally non-binding, the wide scope of global opposition to the U.S. on the status of al-Quds indicates a heavy loss of prestige and legitimacy for Washington, which could translate into a loss of effectiveness in foreign policy making on the Middle East.

Due to its unilateral and irresponsible foreign policy and conflicting political discourse, Trump's America instigated the rise of anti-Americanism even in friendly countries

The EU, France, the U.K., Germany, Russia and China all declared that the American administration had taken a wrong and provocative step that could damage peace efforts and trigger widespread violence.

The U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This sparked anger and reactions from the Middle East and Europe, and before the decision, many leaders around the world tried to reach out to the White House to stop the president from declaring his decision.

Western political elites have developed three opinions about Islam and Muslims, which I will try to describe briefly here. The first and the most popular Western perception is anti-Islamism.

The escalation of the nuclear issue with Iran, the unveiling of the Gulf crisis with Qatar, the crisis with Turkey over the support for the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria and the alleged involvement in domestic power struggles in Saudi Arabia were all indications of this tendency.