Category Archives: Uncategorized

Turkey’s Polarization Continues Unabated

Posted on July 27, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

July 27, 2020 The sermon delivered by Professor Ali Erbaş, the President of Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), at the opening of Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque has rightly aroused indignation, anger among those who remain attached to Turkey’s founding principles … Continue reading →

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The Hagia Sophia: Balance Sheet of the Past Week

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

July 19, 2020 It has been a week since the Hagia Sophia was reconverted to a mosque through the annulment of the government decree of 1935 which had turned it into a museum. The change was presented as an auspicious … Continue reading →

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The Hagia Sophia

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

July 10, 2020 “Turkey is a bridge between East and West” is a widely used metaphor to define not only Turkey’s location between Asia and Europe but also its history, identity, culture with its blessings and contradictions. The city of … Continue reading →

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Sad Times for Democracy

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

July 5, 2020 China had a two-term limit on its president since the 1990s. Xi Jinping became president in 2012. In April this year, the National People’s Congress approved the removal the two-term limit, effectively allowing him to “remain in … Continue reading →

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Turkish-French Tensions Over Libya

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

June 29, 2020 Two weeks ago, France accused Turkey of harassing a French frigate off the coast of Libya while it carried out checks on a Turkish ship that it suspected of breaking the UN arms embargo. Turkey denied the … Continue reading →

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Turkey Needs to Pivot to Diplomacy

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

June 22, 2020 Ataturk was the hero of our War of Independence, the founder of the Republic and Turkey’s greatest ever reformer. His motto was, “peace at home, peace in the world”. Suffice to say, we no longer have peace … Continue reading →

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The Day of Reckoning

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

June 15, 2020 The end of the Cold War raised hopes for a more peaceful and stable world with the “international community” collectively confronting global challenges. This proved a myth. After three decades, all we hear now is Cold War … Continue reading →

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Confrontation over Hong Kong

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

May 26, 2020 In April 2017, President Trump hosted his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a two-day summit at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. After their meeting, Mr. Trump spoke of “tremendous progress” in the U.S.-China relationship. A year later, … Continue reading →

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The Syrian Quagmire

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

May 18, 2020 Syria’s relations with Moscow have traditionally been close and steady. Russia operated a military base in Tartus for more than four decades. In the mid-1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S. Secretary of State Warren … Continue reading →

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Fighting King Covid XIX

Posted on May 11, 2020 by Ali Tuygan

May 11, 2020 Two months ago, underlining the regrettable shallowness of the concept of “international community”, I said that the world now needs the kind cooperation  commensurate with the enormity of the coronavirus challenge, like emergency meetings at the UN … Continue reading →

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