As always, it was a busy week in Türkiye’s political landscape. At the top of the national agenda were the presidential elections held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Another headline was President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to the Gulf countries. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Chief İbrahim Kalın’s meeting with Hamas officials was ...

By Özgür Altınbaş We discussed the ongoing tariff war between the United States and China with Adjunct Professor Warwick Powell from Queensland University of Technology and Xu Yawen from CGTN Radio. The experts stressed that the U.S. is making a strategic mistake and harming its own domestic economy. They also noted that China’s defensive mechanisms against U.S. President Donald Trump’s ...

By Mehmet Enes Beşer The environmental sustainability experience of Southeast Asia is an uneven and rugged terrain, shaped by forces that intersect but refuse to move together in harmony. As the ASEAN countries speed up to discover the middle path between economic development and nature protection, they must contend with the unbalanced consequences of the leading drivers—digitalization, natural resource exploitation, ...

By Adem Kılıç, Political Scientist / Author Lebanon and the Republic of Cyprus have this week brought back to the agenda the agreement on determining maritime jurisdiction boundaries, which has been ongoing since 2017 but has never materialized due to Türkiye’s resolute stance and foreign policy moves in the region. Various speculations about its signing have found their way into ...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the U.S. military could stop receiving their salaries in mid-November if the government shutdown (temporary interruption of the functioning of the U.S. administration) continues. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican congresswoman, reported on Sunday that the U.S. government shutdown could last until the end of November. In an interview with CBS, Bessent said, “I ...

By Yıldıran Acar, Political Scientist In recent days, a roundtable organized by the Russian Union of Journalists, titled “On the Razor’s Edge of Information Wars,” shed light on one of the most critical issues of our time: the transformation of information into a new front of warfare. I did not attend this meeting; however, the themes highlighted and the views ...

By Orçun Göktürk, from Beijing / China With Donald Trump’s return to the global stage, the U.S. foreign policy strategy has shifted away from its long-proclaimed mission of defending so-called “freedom and democracy” toward a period entirely oriented around American interests -a new “era of the best deals.” At the heart of this change lies Trump’s “America First” doctrine, which ...

One of the most rewarding and gratifying things about writing is the exchange with readers. Every week, I receive an average of around 80 messages with opinions, reflections, or simply acknowledgments, almost always expressing satisfaction. All of this makes me happy and motivates me to work harder to do even better. Occasionally, messages are accompanied by proposed topics or issues ...

This question has been back on the agenda following the visit of Bartholomew, the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch, to the White House on September 15. Bartholomeos, who met with President Trump, stated that they discussed the reopening of the Heybeliada Seminary in Istanbul, the situation of Christians in West Asia, and the Ukrainian Church. Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew uses the ...

By Mehmet Enes Beşer There is a stunning paradox at the core of the Southeast Asian model of development, a paradox more desperate with each climate summit, energy crisis, and investment diversion. The ASEAN bloc has subscribed formally to world climate targets. Its member states have made Nationally Determined Contributions, committed net-zero emission goals (some as early as 2050), and ...

By Aiko Fujimoto Following the crushing defeat in the Upper House election, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation on September 17, with the LDP leadership election set for October 4. During this period, opinion polls showed that while some believed “there was no need to resign,” more than “he should resign.” Multiple “Don’t Resign, Ishihara!” demonstrations were held in ...

The US aggression against Latin American countries is widening its scope. After Venezuela, the US navy has also targeted Colombian citizens in a boat while, the Presidents Trump and Petro are engaging in strong polemics. Simultaneously unsolved is the spat between Brazil and the US, which escalated when a Brazilian court sentenced former President Bolsonaro guilty of an attempted coup ...