Tag: US Foreign Policy

Dr. Matlé explores the consequences of NATO’s new 2022 Strategic Concept for Europe and Germany and weighs in on debates of whether or not German defense policy is experiencing a so-called “Zeitenwende” – or sea change.

In this episode of Fenikspod’s Atlantic Series, Dr. Mehmet Yegin spoke with Dr. Amin Tarzi, Director of Middle East Studies at Marine Corps University, about the protests in Iran, their demographics, rationale, likelihood of success, and impact on the ongoing nuclear negotiations.

Despite, or perhaps in part due to his controversial defense policies and embroilment in various scandals related to corruption, Abe has had an indelible impact on East Asia relations, particularly those of Japan and South Korea.

The new German government’s policy towards Russia deserves Turkey’s attention as it is likely to affect Ankara’s own balancing act between Washington, Moscow, and even Paris.

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.

Throughout the U.S. war in Afghanistan, Iran has maintained extensive influence in its eastern neighbor. It played both sides of the conflict, supporting the now-deposed government in Kabul while also developing ties with the Taliban. With the Taliban’s takeover of the country in the wake of the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces, Tehran will engage pragmatically with the militant group to safeguard and further its national security strategy.

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.

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.

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.

While significant efforts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict aren’t expected over the next four years, stabilization could become the focus