Synopsis • July 30, 2021
FeniksPolitik organized its first in-house event on the future of NATO and the challenges it faces in confronting a changing Middle East, the US pivot to Asia, increasing presence of Russia and China in the region and intra-alliance tensions tied to a Turkey in democratic decline.
What Could Turkey Gain From A New Nuclear Deal With Iran?
It is still uncertain whether the US and Iran can succeed in reaching a new nuclear deal; still, Turkey could benefit either way so long as it takes the rights steps in coordination with the US.
Uncertainty Looms In Post-American Middle East
Geopolitical, ideological, and socio-economic quandaries will continue to haunt processes of normalization in the Middle East subsequent to the US’s gradual withdrawal from the region. Underlying issues remain unresolved despite diplomatic relaxation, and the power vacuum left behind by the US has the potential to rekindle regional rivalries and trigger proxy wars worse than those seen under the Obama and Trump administrations.
Attempts to Close Turkey’s Pro-Kurdish Party Gain Pace
Just a few days after the deadly attack on offices of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party, the Constitutional Court accepted an indictment seeking the closure of the party. But what would a closure mean for the role of Kurdish politics in Turkey’s future?
Editor's Pick
Dimitar Bechev: “Europe Remains the Center of Gravity for Turkey”
Relations between Turkey and the West have been eroded by years of crises, and Turkish President Erdogan’s recent attempts at rapprochement have their limits. Still, while Turkey may be drifting further away from the US, European-Turkish relations have remained remarkably resilient.
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Dimitar Bechev: “Europe Remains the Center of Gravity for Turkey”
Relations between Turkey and the West have been eroded by years of crises, and Turkish President Erdogan’s recent attempts at rapprochement have their limits. Still, while Turkey may be drifting further away from the US, European-Turkish relations have remained remarkably resilient.
Karol Wasilewski: “Turkey Has Become The EU’s Adversarial Partner”
Turkey has become an adversarial partner of the EU as the result of several international disagreements and the worsening state of Turkish democracy under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Still, both parties are signaling for new cooperation based on mutual interests in fields such as migration and the economy.
A. Erdi Öztürk: “Religion Plays a Significant Role in Turkey-Balkan Relations”
The identity of the Turkish state has been transformed under the rule of Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the central role that religion has come to play in its foreign policy is best exemplified in its relations with the Balkans.
Pact For Pluralist Democracy Needed In Post-Erdogan Turkey
Amid deepening economic crisis, domestic and foreign policy disarray, and the decline of public support for Turkey’s strongman president, discussions on what a Turkey without Erdogan could/should look like are becoming more prevalent. Still, many experts agree that the end of Erdogan’s rule in and of itself wouldn’t usher in an era of democracy, especially without the opposition’s adoption of a pluralist approach.
Erdogan-Biden Meeting Left To Our Imagination
The much-anticipated meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to address even the most pressing issues. For all we know, which isn’t a lot, the leaders will enter into more substantive discussions later. But on what? They didn’t even announce what was spoken about.
Vaccinations in Israel: Extraordinary Success or Ordinary Exclusion?
More than half of Israel’s population has now received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Despite these impressive results, criticisms of Israel’s exclusion of Palestinians from its vaccination campaign have come to the fore.