Interview
Naheed Esar: “Women’s Resistance In Afghanistan Will Continue”
In her recent interview with FeniksPod, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Naheed Esar points outs that Afghan women were the first to take to the streets against Taliban rule. She notes that women’s resistance will continue, making it more difficult for the Taliban to provide stability despite its ability to maintain security in the country.
Ljubomir Filipovic: “A Regional Front Needed for Easing Tensions in Montenegro”
While Montenegro, a tiny Balkan country on Adriatic coast, was hit by violent events and political crises evoked by the new head of the Serbian church in Montenegro, Metropolitan Joanikije’s ceremony in Cetinje, the former capital city of the country we spoke to Ljubomir Filipovic, Executive Coordinator of Civil Initiative May 21 and a political analyst at Café del Montenegro.
New EU-Turkey Refugee Deal Impelled by Taliban Takeover, Economic Crisis, and Political Polarization
With the 2016 EU-Turkey refugee deal coming to an end, the next agreement should be more comprehensive as Turkey grapples with an influx of Afghan refugees amid domestic economic downturn and a wave of political polarization that places refugees front and center.
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.
Gülay Türkmen: “Islam Plays Ambivalent Role in Turkey’s Kurdish Conflict”
The secular identity, not subscribing to exclusionary secularism but a much more sensitive approach to religious claims, would be more inclusive and pluralist.
Selcuk Colakoglu: “A Future Russia-China-Turkey Bloc Is Unlikely”
Given the different and often conflicting agendas, a future Russia-China-Turkey bloc is unlikely but three countries continue to use each other as leverage in their economic and foreign affairs
Aykan Erdemir: “Under Biden, US-Turkey relations will take on a more Institutional rather than Personal Character”
In the absence of President Trump’s personal relationship with President Erdogan, US-Turkey relations under the Biden administration will return to institutional avenues previously damaged by the actions of the Erdogan government.
Sibel Oktay: “The MHP is not the Puppet Master of the AKP’s Foreign Policy”
The MHP is not necessarily pulling the AKP towards any particular policy position. The AKP would have taken all these steps in Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean even if the MHP weren’t in the picture.
Edward G. Stafford: “Biden will have a tough time dealing with Erdogan’s Turkey”
Trump protected Erdogan from CAATSA sanctions in all the ways that a president can. Yet, it’s not because he likes Erdogan. Will Joe Biden do the same?
Srecko Latal: Biden’s Victory Brings New Opportunities And Old Risks For The Balkans
An arena for global power games for centuries, the Balkans has yet again become the site of geopolitical competition with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
F. Michael Wuthrich: Early Elections Would Be The AKP’s Last Choice
Declaring early elections would be the AKP’s last choice, because there is absolutely no need for them to have early elections
Max Hoffman: Turkey Lost a Huge Degree of Political Capital in Washington
Many people in Washington viewed that there are three pillars of the U.S- Turkey relationship: first is the shared values of democracy, second is Turkey as a key NATO ally in countering Russia and the third pillar is about Turkey’s regional importance.
Max Hoffman: Challenges are Slowly Deconsolidating the Turkish Right
Contrary to conventional wisdom, we found that most AKP supporters were not meaningfully Islamist in their political views, and that nativism and jingoism could be seen as far more powerful forces than religious conservatism in many ways.
Bruce W. Jentleson: Biden is a Stronger Candidate Even Without COVID-19
Bruce W. Jentleson: Contrast between Biden’s Competence and Trump’s Narcissism could actually make Biden a stronger Candidate even without COVID-19
Bruce W. Jentleson: Liberal International Order Erodes
The world has changed fundamentally over the last 10 or 15 years. It has changed in ways that were already beginning to erode the pillars of the liberal international order.