By Mehmet Enes Beşer ASEAN has been at the very center of Southeast Asia’s political, economic, and diplomatic order for over five decades. It has preserved peace in a region formerly shattered by strife, facilitated trade integration, and become a convenor of dialogue between great powers. But in recent years, its influence has noticeably waned—its voice muffled by geopolitical competitions, ...

By Mohammed Sabreen, from Cairo / Egypt “What will happen now?” is the question being asked most urgently at the present time. There is no escape from Iran’s aggressive escalation in the face of Israeli aggression, given the risks of regional escalation, the current war spiraling out of control, and the involvement of the United States and the West in ...

The conflict that began in recent days, coinciding with Israel’s aggression against Iran and the assassination of the country’s high-ranking commanders, is still ongoing. It appears that as time passes, the scale of these clashes is increasing, and Iran and Israel may be heading toward a full-scale war. Iran’s performance over the past four days has been noteworthy. On one ...

Ukraine has hit Russia’s strategic nuclear bombers and sabotaged rail lines. In doing so, it targeted both Russia’s new nuclear doctrine and Russian civilians. So, it’s no surprise that the Istanbul peace table fell apart without any real outcome. And now, it’s back to war… What is happening on the front lines? Russia has responded to Zelenskyy’s attacks by striking ...

By Stephan Kaufmann The US government is launching a new offensive to consolidate the economic foundations of its global power. The planned new budget is intended to make the US a magnet for capital from all over the world. Tax cuts are intended to channel investor money to the United States. President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” costs trillions of ...

Israel has launched a wave of air strikes on Iran, hitting military leaders, nuclear and military sites overnight on 13th June. Iran retaliated by striking Tel Aviv, Haifa and several military and strategic targets in Israel. The war is tending to escalate further, with no sign of compromise in sight for now. UWI author, historian and political scientist Associate Professor ...

Israel has launched a wave of air strikes on Iran, hitting military leaders, nuclear and military sites overnight on 13th June. Hours after Israel’s attack, UWI author and political scientist Onur Sinan Güzaltan was a guest on Türkiye’s Ulusal Kanal. We present the question directed to Güzaltan and his answers. We’d like to begin with your initial assessment of Israel’s ...

During the last decade of the last century, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the United States set out to find a new enemy to serve as a pivot for reorganizing its foreign and military policy. Initially, it found one in drug trafficking. After September 11, 2001, it added terrorism as an ...

By Mehmet Enes Beşer With news of China’s alleged transfer of defense technology and weapons to Yemen, Beijing’s Middle East policy came under renewed questioning. While the specific scale and form of such aid remains unclear, the political ramifications of the news are certain. To others, these moves all add up to a real change in China’s role — reluctant ...

By Deniz Yıldırım Germany has begun to deploy troops to Lithuania, with the “need to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank”. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited the 45th Tank Brigade stationed in Lithuania. This move marks the first time since the Nazi era that Germany has stationed troops in a foreign country. Following the outbreak of the ...

By Orçun Göktürk, from Beijing / China The Shangri-La Dialogue 2025, Asia’s largest and most comprehensive security forum held annually in Singapore, has concluded. In addition to the US-China tension, new contradictions and fault lines between Europe and the US also drew attention at the Forum. The Forum takes its name from the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where it was ...

By Adem Kılıç, Political Scientist Shortly after taking office, the Trump administration made securing a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine a top foreign policy priority. Over the past four months, Trump’s campaign rhetoric that he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours has proven unsuccessful, while it has also become clear that achieving a viable and lasting ceasefire ...