Copyright 2012 Soner Cagaptay Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:40:02 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Soner Cagaptay :: Writings http://www.cagaptay.com cagaptay@gmail.com (Soner Cagaptay) webmaster@pundicity.com en-us http://www.cagaptay.com/11092/russia-tartus-port Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST Russian foot-dragging is now a key barrier between the Syrian demonstrators and their prospective liberation from Bashar al-Assad's rule. Even the timid Arab League has called for al-Assad to leave, and Syria's powerful neighbor, Turkey, has declared... http://www.cagaptay.com/11033/turkey-kurdish-weltschmerz Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST Until a few years ago, tensions between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and its opponents dominated the headlines in Ankara, and some even worried about a confrontation with the military. Today, though, Turkish domestic politics are... http://www.cagaptay.com/11030/france-turkey-empires Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST As Egyptians and Tunisians vote to replace ousted despots and the Syrian government teeters on the brink, two old imperial powers are competing to exert their political influence over Arab countries in upheaval. And they are not America and Russia. After... http://www.cagaptay.com/10917/turkey-moves-beyond-europe Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST The Turks are selling pasta to the Italians, educating Papua-New Guineans in their universities, building airports in Egypt, running schools in Nigeria and establishing diplomatic missions in Latin America. Turkey has not felt and acted like the... http://www.cagaptay.com/10870/portugal-arab-spring Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST On April 25, 1974, the "Carnation Revolution" shook Portugal's 48-year-old dictatorship. A group of army officers, joined by the masses and underground communist movement, rebelled against the regime. Surprisingly, the dictatorship collapsed like a house... http://www.cagaptay.com/10826/syria-turkey-relationship Sun, 4 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST Turkey has recently emerged as a patron country of the Arab Spring - defying dictators, standing with protestors and building prestige across Arab societies. This, however, does not mean unfettered Turkish sway over Arab countries après dictators: Egypt... http://www.cagaptay.com/10718/turkey-neighbors-dictators Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST The Middle East is not Benelux, unfortunately — not yet. In 2002, when Turkey's newly elected Justice and Development Party began a policy of rapprochement with the country's Middle Eastern neighbors including Syria, the hope was that this would... http://www.cagaptay.com/10701/turkey-eu-reset Sun, 13 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST There are two problems with Turkey's accession into the European Union. The first is that there is no accession; the second is that there is no EU. No need to panic, though, so long as the EU manages to resuscitate itself. Turkey's EU hopes have hit... http://www.cagaptay.com/10702/obama-erdogan-shared-interests Sat, 12 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST Only last year, U.S.-Turkish relations were in tumult, with disagreements on a number of issues — such as Turkey's relations with Israel and how to deal with Iran's nuclearization — undermining Washington's historical bond with Ankara. Today, however,... http://www.cagaptay.com/10704/turkey-two-party-system Sun, 6 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST News from Turkey is constantly changing at a dizzying pace, but a new and permanent paradigm is arising: a strong ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the maturing of a two party system. A recent study that we conducted with colleagues at The... http://www.cagaptay.com/10703/lessons-tunisia-turkey Fri, 4 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST Tunisia today is like Turkey a decade ago. Tunisia's Ennahda, a movement of self-declared reformed Islamists and conservative politicians, has emerged as the largest party in the polls, defeating its secularist opponents in the Party for Democratic... http://www.cagaptay.com/10612/syria-iran-turkey-enemies Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) will dominate the news in the coming days. The PKK, a group known for its violent attacks against Turkey, is fast becoming part of the new trilateral power game between Turkey, Iran and Syria as Bashar al Assad... http://www.cagaptay.com/10614/turkey-israel-earthquake-diplomacy Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST When a massive earthquake hit Turkey in 1999, it set the stage for Greece and Turkey to improve their downward-spiraling ties. This process, later dubbed "earthquake diplomacy," ushered in a lasting, positive era in Turkish-Greek ties. The recent quake... http://www.cagaptay.com/10584/pkk-violence-turkey-policy Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST On October 22, a group of armed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members crossed into Turkey from Iraq and killed twenty-four Turkish soldiers, the group's most devastating attack since 1993. In the early 1990s, when the PKK inflicted heavy damage on... http://www.cagaptay.com/10578/turkey-earthquake Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST In 1999, two massive earthquakes struck Western Turkey just outside of Istanbul, killing thousands of people. The quakes shook not only the Anatolian tectonic plate but also the Turks' confidence in their much-respected secular elites who, soon after the...