Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the South Caucasus has been at the crossroads of regional and great power geopolitics. For the past three decades, the most difficult to navigate of these flashpoints is Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian-majority enclave in Azerbaijan has long been at the center of a power struggle between Armenia and Azerbaijan. […]
Tag: Turkey
Turkey’s 2023 General Election: A Turn in Turkey’s Democratic Future
Turkey today has undergone democratic backsliding in recent decades, as Turkish President Erdogan has transformed Turkey into an increasingly authoritarian state. With its general election ongoing, Turkey has been thrust into the spotlight as current President Erdogan faces opposition Kemal Kilicdaroglu. President Erdogan has become increasingly unpopular due to policies that dismantled key aspects of […]
Islamophobia is on the Rise in Sweden
Recently, Swedish officials came under fire for allowing the burning of a copy of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, in front of the Turkish embassy. Turkey quickly condemned the actions of the Swedish government and threatened to withhold North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership from Sweden. Turkey’s threat holds significant weight as Sweden’s neighbor, Ukraine, […]
Caught in the Middle: The Immigration Crisis Between Morocco and Spain
At the end of August, diplomatic sources confirmed that Karima Benyaich, the Moroccan ambassador to Spain, would resume her duties in Madrid. The announcement signaled reconciliation after a months-long diplomatic crisis. Morocco recalled Benyaich from her post in May after tensions between the two countries escalated following Spain’s decision to allow Brahim Ghali, leader of […]
What Makes a Terrorist, What Makes an Ally
As members of the United States, we are given a designated list of what groups and which people we ought to believe engage in terrorism. Yet what the government considers and what is ignored when adding or omitting a name to that list is obscured. The United States’ relationship with terrorism was choreographed following the […]
The last stronghold of resistance: Idlib in War
Buried under the very important and drastic news of the ‘stock market crash’ and concerns over Bernie Sanders’ health lies the “insignificant” story of bloodshed and misery: the War for Idlib. In March 2011, when the Arab Spring spilled over into Syria, the Syrian people and the international community thought that change was underway. However, […]
The Fate of a Nation
In the span of three years, from 1986 to 1989, the Iraqi Military Force killed between 50,000 to 182,000 Kurds and destroyed 90 percent of all Kurdish villages in Northern Iraq. This dark episode in history is often referred to as the Anfal Genocide. As the persecutions against the Kurds continued in Iraq, many sought […]
Jamal Khashoggi: A Veiled Political Battle Between Saudi Arabia and Turkey
Middle Eastern politics of late have shaken the rest of the world. On the 2nd of October, journalist Jamal Khashoggi reportedly entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, and never exited. Khashoggi, a Saudi national most recently living in Virginia on self-imposed exile, was a well-known critic of the Saudi regime. The Saudi […]
Turkey: Where Do We Go From Here?
On June 24, 2018, incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite what nearly every polling statistic said, won the election, reestablishing himself as the nation’s authoritative figure. Erdogan, a socially conservative yet economically liberal leader, had had a turbulent first term in office, including a coup attempt from the Turkey Armed Forces, a shut-down of […]
Still Stuck in the Cold War? Turkey, NATO, Russia, and the Art of Patronage
Russia announces new arms deals almost daily, and successfully completes them nearly as often. But the sale of Russian arms to a NATO member is a strikingly rare event. Last month, Turkey signed an agreement to purchase the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system from Russia, following in the footsteps of Belarus, Algeria, and China, all […]