(R) Ambassador
Despite efforts on both sides to downplay the tensions, Turkish-American relations have never been more strained. This reality was once again painfully obvious during the Türkiye-United States Joint Strategic Mechanism meetings held in Washington on January 18, between Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his counterpart Antony Blinken. While the Biden administration, since its first day
The initial results of the US midterm elections came as a huge disappointment for the ranks of the Republican Party. The Republicans were almost certain of a success in the midterm elections, which would renew all 435 members of the House of Representatives, one-third of the 100 total members of the Senate, as well as
It seems increasingly less likely that the results of the U.S. Midterm elections will help clear the clouds menacing American democracy. Anand Giridharadas, commenting on recent developments in world politics said: “We are living through a revolt against the future”. The former New York Times columnist is right on target. Throughout the world we are
John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil and served as its president for 29 years. He was one of the richest businessmen of all time. He lived for almost a century until the age of 98. Rockefeller was a highly engaged reader of the New York Times. However, the bad news in the newspaper demoralized him,
A favourite phrase by Turkish government officials these days is that they are “implementing a foreign policy with a 360 degree outlook which is cemented on friendship”. I’m assuming the message is that they are weighing every possible policy angle before making a decision but the ultimate aim is friendship. Actual policy and reality on
Turkey’s populist-driven foreign policies are coming back to bite us and Erdoğan’s government is unable to formulate solutions for the impasse they themselves created. This reality is especially urgent in Syria. Elections are coming up and one of the bigger determinants for voters is the economic and sociological costs of hosting 3.5 million Syrian refugees.
Since Turkey’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the 1950s, Turkish mainstream politicians have promised their constituencies to transform Turkey into “little America”. Grandfathered into this promise was the electorate’s expectation that Turkey’s economic and social development would improve to match the welfare of their American brethren. In the post-War environment where
The recent trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Turkey, Sweden, and Finland, which set the stage for the most successful NATO summit since the Ukraine crisis started, reminded me of Obama’s leading from behind doctrine. The phrase was first coined by the Obama administration to describe President Obama’s Libyan strategy; leading from behind. While
Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin was a Russian general who was one of the architects of Russia’s 18th century expansionism. He was also a statesman and one of the lovers of Czarina Katerina II. He was devoted to establishing a new Byzantine Empire under the rule of Russia with Czarina Katerina II by dismantling the Ottoman Empire;