Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: Turkey

Turkey Retires Generals Jailed on Coup Charges

Turkey Retires Generals Jailed on Coup Charges

The decision is made during the meeting of the Supreme Military Council (YAS) which convenes biannually to discuss the military’s agenda and the promotions in the military’s upper echelons. According to Hürriyet Daily News, some of the arrested generals and admirals have been awaiting promotion since their promotions were previously put on hold in 2011’s […]

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The Plight of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

The Plight of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

While Turkey argues that it has the capacity to address the increasing flow of Syrian refugees, several refugee advocacy groups have criticized Turkey’s policies and have called on Ankara to adhere to its obligations under international law. As the international community is struggling to find a solution to end the violence in Syria, the humanitarian […]

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Turkey to produce ICBMs

Turkey to produce ICBMs

Acting on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s directives for the production of long-range missile with 2500km (1553 miles) range, Turkey’s Defense Industry Executive Committee has formally announced its decision to commence design and production work for an ICBM. According to Turkish NTV and Zaman news agencies, sources in the Ministry of Defense have indicated that industry agencies had […]

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America’s Troubling Intervention Instinct

America’s Troubling Intervention Instinct

Way back in February I expanded on a report in the Christian Science Monitor that suggested al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) had set up shop against the Assad regime, in Syria. Writing both here and for The American Spectator, I joined the chorus of analysts, academics and pundits who urged caution against arming Syrian rebels – precisely because it’s unthinkable to equip battle-hardened […]

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UN Members Must Rise to September’s Rule of Law Challenge

UN Members Must Rise to September’s Rule of Law Challenge

After more than a year of planning, much diplomatic hype, and thousands of attendees, last month’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro produced what one activist called a “failure of epic proportions.” The few agreements—including yet another “universal intergovernmental high level political forum” to talk some more—seemed to fall well short of the challenge […]

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Developments Suggest Turkey May Realign With Israel

Developments Suggest Turkey May Realign With Israel

The following was taken from Jspace.com.  The article was written by Jspace Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Rob Lattin, who also blogs about Israeli and Middle Eastern foreign policy for Foreign Policy Blogs.  With all of the turmoil and uncertainty going on in the Middle East right now, the state of Israeli-Turkish relations has largely been under-reported and under-analyzed. While […]

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Turkey: The Wildcard for a NATO Intervention in Syria?

Turkey: The Wildcard for a NATO Intervention in Syria?

After the shooting down of a Turkish F4, supposedly unarmed, last Friday, Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recently declared that Turkey considers Syria as a “clear and present danger.” However, he went further and claimed that “we [Turkey] won’t be trapped into a war of provocation, but we won’t be silent and do nothing […]

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Turkey’s Quest for Drones

Turkey’s Quest for Drones

After years of relative quiet, 2011 was one of the bloodiest in the recent history of the Turkey-Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) conflict. Last week, eight Turkish soldiers and 10 PKK militants were killed following a cross-border attack by the PKK on an outpost in the eastern province of Hakkari. The recent clashes came at a time of growing national and […]

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Questions About Turkey’s Role in Syria

Questions About Turkey’s Role in Syria

Syrian refugees sit outside their tents at Reyhanli refugee camp in Hatay province on the Turkish-Syrian border in April. Turkey’s prime minister recently warned that ‘Syria must be aware that in the event of a repetition of border violations, Turkey’s stance will not be the same.’ A fifth of Turkish military’s top brass is under […]

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Is Turkey Moving Away from the West? A Critical Redux (by Miguel Vargas)

Is Turkey Moving Away from the West? A Critical Redux (by Miguel Vargas)

Dear FPA Blog followers, You might know that I feature some analyses and articles not published elsewhere for the benefit of this blog. This post is one of them; it is written by an exceedingly capable student of mine at Princeton – Miguel Vargas, whose final article for the course ‘International Relations of the Middle […]

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The 21 Years Itch and Turkey’s Role in Somalia

The 21 Years Itch and Turkey’s Role in Somalia

Two decades have passed since the collapse of the Somali state. Twenty one years to be exact. According to Lee Cassanelli, Professor of African history at the University of Pennsylvania, this exact number matters in Somali politics – perhaps in a subconscious way. In August 2007, during one of his presentations at the Somali Studies […]

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Exclusive Interview: Rashad Al-Dabbagh of the Syrian American Council

Exclusive Interview: Rashad Al-Dabbagh of the Syrian American Council

The following interview was conducted by Foreign Policy Blog’s Rob Lattin with the Syrian American Council’s (SAC) Communications Director Rashad Al-Dabbagh. The SAC is a non-partisan, non-sectarian grassroots organization devoted to promoting educational, civic, economic, and human development, as well as advancing civil liberties and human dignity in Syria.  It also seeks to build bridges […]

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Gay Couples Courted for Middle East Stance with Mural

Gay Couples Courted for Middle East Stance with Mural

Obama’s Endorsement is Already Creating New Political Realities   NEW YORK – Engaged gay couples are the newest group to be courted in the Mid-East Conflict. A massive outdoor mural in Manhattan’s West Village depicts two men holding hands while looking at scales that weigh the gay rights enjoyed in Israel versus the homosexual persecution in […]

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Western-Iranian Negotiations in the Post-Arab Spring Middle East

Western-Iranian Negotiations in the Post-Arab Spring Middle East

Iran today is well-positioned to leverage the Arab world’s difficult political transition to religious-based politics and influence this transition to suit its geopolitical interests. After a 15-month hiatus marked by mutual distrust and reciprocal accusations of insincerity to negotiate, on April 14 Istanbul hosted a new round of negotiations between Iran and the world’s major powers […]

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Turkey’s post- “No Problems” world

Turkey’s post- “No Problems” world

For Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, the past two weeks have been a hellish test in international diplomacy. Last weekend’s Iran talks ended in a stalemate, and yesterday, the UN observers in Syria were attacked by mobs. With little but more heated rhetoric and violence coming from all sides, it’s clear that neither crisis is likely […]

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Foreign Policy Blogs is a network of global affairs blogs and a supplement to the Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions program. Staffed by professional contributors from the worlds of journalism, academia, business, non-profits and think tanks, the FPB network tracks global developments on Great Decisions 2014 topics, daily. The FPB network is a production of the Foreign Policy Association.