At The House of Wisdom, we had an engaging discussion with Noah Feldman on his book,The Arab Winter: A Tragedy. The book challenges the conventional wisdom and asks novel philosophical questions about most noble–and painfully tragic– series of events in which, for the first time in recent Middle Eastern history, Arabic-speaking peoples took free, collective action for their self-determination. Watch the podcast on YouTube
Unlike Trump’s transactional dealings with Erdoğan, Biden’s restoration of institutional dynamics will have a major impact on US-Turkey relations. READ MORE
There are strong indicators that Ankara has silently adopted a policy to compel Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to moderate its position in exchange for Turkish support for international recognition as a legitimate opposition force. READ MORE
Seizing the opportunity to fill another vacuum in the geopolitical power game, Putin may lead an Astana-like process in Libya thanks to Erdoǧan. Driving a deeper rift between Turkey and European Union, Russia is also a geopolitical winner in such a scenario.
Turkish boots are now fully mobilized in the service of the Government of National Accord but escalating tensions in the Mediterranean over energy resources may actually harm both Ankara and Tripoli. READ MORE
Although Turkish and Russian troops are now conducting joint patrols in northern Syria, a number of serious questions about this arrangement remain unanswered. READ MORE
Fact-Checker analysis at The Washington Post and the video interview on Trump’s false comments on “centuries” of fighting between Turks and Kurds. READ MORE
BBC Live Interview on October 19, 2019 Watch the interview
Turkish foreign policy confusions are not confined to Syria. From Libya to Sudan, Turkey has found itself in intense competition and military conflicts at multiple fronts. As Turkey’s “Muslim Democracy” model and soft power have been fading away, Turkish military activism now dominates its foreign policy vision. READ MORE
Turkey’s highly politicized atmosphere, with frequent elections in the past few years, has fueled negative perceptions of Syrians, who are often associated with Erdoğan’s ruling party. Syrian refugees become more vulnerable as their status gets politicized in a crumbling economy. READ MORE
Mustafa Gurbuz 