Turkey
Partying Like It’s 1998
By Paul Krugman / New York Times. And now for something completely similar. For a while, those of us who devoted a lot of time to understanding the Asian financial crisis two decades ago were wondering whether Turkey was going to stage a re-enactment. Sure enough, that’s what seems to be happening. Here’s the script:…
Turkey’s President Erdogan Vows to Win ‘Economic War’ With U.S.
Economist Heiner Flassbeck and Political Analyst Ekrem Ekici say Turkey’s economic crisis runs deeper than U.S. sanctions
Big power competition in the Eastern Mediterranean: Is Trump missing the point?
By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. A Trump administration decision to sanction two key Turkish officials in retaliation for the continued detention of an American cleric coupled with unqualified support for Israel and the adoption of a backseat in Syria threatens to further undermine US influence in the Eastern Mediterranean, a key part of…
Saudi-UK media tie-up: Targeting the non-Arabic-speaking Middle East
By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. Long satisfied to attempt to dominate pan-Arab media and battle it out with Qatar’s state-owned Al Jazeera television network, Saudi Arabia has now set its hegemonic sights on influencing the media landscape of the non-Arabic speaking greater Middle East. In the wake of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s…
Saudi religious diplomacy targets Jerusalem
By James M. Dorsey A United Arab Emirates-backed Saudi effort to wrest control from Jordan of Islam’s holy places in Jerusalem signals a sharper, more overt edge to Saudi religious diplomacy and the kingdom’s quest for regional hegemony that risks deepening divides in the Muslim world. The effort also serves to…
Turkey’s Erdogan Expands Authoritarian Powers with Fascist Coalition Election Victory
After 15 years in power, Recep Tayyip Erdogan will serve another 5 years as president of NATO member Turkey. TRNN’s Ben Norton speaks with activist Aral Balkan about the AKP’s victorious coalition with the far-right extremist MHP, and the implosion of Turkish democracy
Eurasianism wins in Turkey even if ideologue loses election
By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. He’s been in and out of prison during Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rule and is running against the president in this weekend’s Turkish elections with no chance of defeating him and little hope of winning a seat in parliament. Yet, Dogu Perincek wields significant influence in Turkey’s security and…
Erdogan Accelerates Attacks on Syria and Iraq in Lead-up to Turkish Election
Turkish President Erdogan is escalating military intervention in northern Syria and Iraq as the snap election approaches. Scholar Baris Karaagac says this is part of a political strategy to unite right-wing nationalist forces. It is also a continuation of a decades-long war on Kurds
Turkey’s Erdogan Allies with Fascists for Election, Repressing Leftists and Kurds
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formed a coalition with the fascist party MHP for the upcoming snap election. TRNN’s Ben Norton speaks with scholar Baris Karaagac about Turkey’s economic ills, the AKP’s neoliberal nationalist policies, and the repression of the HDP, leftists, and Kurds
Whither the Kurds?
This story was originally published in Europa Ethnica, Vol. ½, 2018 By James M. Dorsey / Mid-East Soccer. Palestinians have long been known for a history of missing opportunities. By contrast, Kurds spread across several Middle Eastern nations appeared to have a keener understanding of geopolitics and were seemingly willing to embrace the art of…