Erdogan’s imagined ‘arms race’ in Cyprus
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his loyalists wasted no time last week blasting Nicosia’s purchase of Barak MX air defense systems, denouncing it as a dire threat to Turkey and its client...
Ottoman
Tom Barrack’s diplomacy of optics: Fast deals, fragile peace
Tom Barrack’s high-speed diplomacy in Syria and Lebanon backfired, fueling instability, alienating allies and deepening mistrust across the region.
Op-eds
As Iran Retreats, Islamist Turkey and Qatar Surge in Lebanon
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, a Sunni, entered the stadium of Beirut’s Sports City to watch the classic football game between the two rival teams Nijmeh and Ansar. When the Shia supporters of...
Op-eds
Israel Can’t Substitute for the U.S. in the Middle East
The Jewish state can protect its neighborhood, but the Persian Gulf needs a superpower’s attention.
Op-eds
Why Is there no Palestinian State?
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is intractable. One binational state is impossible, given that the two sides – Jews and Arabs -- have irreconcilable national projects. The two-state scenario has also proven elusive with Palestinians refusing to recognize Jewish nationhood.
Op-eds
Chile’s new president is a win for Iran
Last Sunday, Chileans elected Gabriel Boric, a young, former social justice student activist, as president.
Op-eds
Why Hamas fights
A new book sheds light on Israel’s wars with Gaza’s rulers
Op-eds
Spectacles of Tolerance: The Precarity of Turkey’s Religious Minorities in the Era of Neo-Ottoman Delusions
Excerpt Turkey watchers continue to debate whether neo-Ottomanism, an ideological proclivity to exalt and revive an imagined Ottoman past and its traditions of religio-political authority and domination,...
Op-eds
The Taliban call the shots
As America’s humiliation continues
Op-eds
Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: Late April
Late April Trends
Policy Tracker
Are We Headed Toward an Ignoble End in Afghanistan?
The question is less about when to leave and more about how to do so without further emboldening the Taliban.
Op-eds
Turkey Must Stop Meddling in Armenian Church Affairs
The Turkish government is imposing its political preferences when it comes to selecting the leaders of the country’s minority groups—and posing a threat to religious freedom.
Op-eds
Scapegoats of Wrath, Subjects of Benevolence: Turkey’s Minorities Under Erdoğan
Op-eds
Things we know that aren’t so
It’s not just homo economicus who threatens us
Op-eds
Human Rights Situation in Turkey
Read the full testimony here.&n...
Legislative Testimonies
Reimagining a more realistic “peace process”
“The peace process” is the name we’ve given to decades of attempts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The reality: These diplomatic efforts have never made meaningful...
Op-eds
The war against history
“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” This, as you may recall, was the slogan of the totalitarian state imagined by Georg...
Op-eds
The Lessons of Armenia Should Not Be Lost
Displayed outside the Turkish embassy in Washington last week was a large banner reading: “Armenian Genocide is an Imperialist Lie.” That claim might be amusing were the subject not s...
Op-eds
Cool Istanbul
Demet Muftuoglu-Eseli is standing perilously close to the fire. The Turkish fashion mogul turned gallerist is hosting a gala dinner for “Istancool,” the annual arts and cultur...
Op-eds
Rouhani In Ankara: The Latest Sign Of Warming Iran-Turkey Ties
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Ankara today with a large delegation for his first state-level trip to Turkey. He met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah G...