Only a fool offers longer term predictions about the Middle East. I offer the following longer terms predictions about the Middle East for 2015. ISIS will decline in power and influence. I have stated earlier that I do not believe ISIS is viable as a state; it lacks any coherent and functional ideology, any serious
by Umar Farooq For more than thirteen years, Turkey has made a slow but steady transition towards a free and democratic society, despite the occasional pang of apprehension among some about where that road might lead. The men at the helm of that transition, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Fethullah Gulen, began as allies, perhaps the most
by Graham E. Fuller Among the many confusing factors swirling around the whole ISIS phenomenon is the role, or roles, of Turkey in the situation. It might be helpful to tick off some of the major salient factors that compete to form Turkish policies towards ISIS under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at this point. DEALING
by Mohammed A. Salih Erbil—After a period of frostiness, Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Turkey seem intent on mending the ties, as each of the parties show signs of needing the other. But the Kurds appear more cautious this time around, leery of moving too close to Ankara lest they alienate the new Iraqi
by Derek Davison Turkey, nominally a member of America’s new anti-ISIS coalition (well, maybe), has for some time now been refusing to allow Kurdish reinforcements and weapons to cross its Syrian border into the besieged city of Kobani. Due to its resistance to even allowing assistance to cross into Kobani, Turkey has faced large Kurdish
via LobeLog
by Derek Davison
An explosion at a coal mine in Turkey on May 13 has generated an outpouring of public anger and concern over the Turkish government’s mine safety record. The response of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his aides to that outpouring may be doing significant damage to his hopes [...]
via LobeLog
by Derek Davison
Over the next few months, citizens in several Middle Eastern countries will take to the polls in a series of elections that will have a good deal to say about the direction the region’s politics will take. From Turkey, to Syria, to Iraq, to Egypt, there is [...]