Aylık arşivler: Nisan 2019

Turkey-US Relations and Iran Sanctions

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April 25, 2019

President Hassan Rouhani had called the JCPOA a “golden page” in his country’s history, opening a new chapter in Iran’s engagement with the world. It was hoped that the deal would end decades of hostile relations between Tehran and Washington.

With President Trump that “golden page” has unfortunately turned into a fond memory.  With the IAEA regularly reporting that Iran is abiding by its commitments under the JCPOA, the P4+Germany and the international community, with the exception of Israel and US’ Gulf allies, still support the deal. Washington’s reneging on its commitments under the JCPOA will no doubt lead to questions regarding the consistency of US foreign policy. But equally if not more important will be dealing with Mr. Trump’s threat that “anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States”, despite the fact that these new sanctions are not endorsed by the UN. Okumaya devam et →

Arab Spring Aftershocks

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April 12, 2019

In February, tens of thousands of Algerians took to the streets demanding an end to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s two decades-long rule. On April 3, he had to resign. To put it more accurately, he was removed from power. Whether he was actually in power or had become just a figurehead can be disputed. Mr. Bouteflika is no ordinary politician. He first distinguished himself during Algeria’s War of Liberation. In 1963 he became foreign minister at the age of 26, a post he held until 1979. With him at the helm of Algeria diplomacy, the country became one of the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement. In 1974 he was elected President of the twenty-ninth session of the UN General Assembly. Okumaya devam et →

Counting and Recounting …

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April 7, 2019

On March 31 Turkey had municipal elections. The result was a yellow card for the government. However, the ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP) immediately asked for recounts in Ankara and İstanbul where, according to initial figures, they lost the mayoralties after more than two decades. Is asking for recounts within the law? Yes, it is. But then government started saying that elected mayors who don’t command the majority in municipal councils, İstanbul being a case in point, would have a hard time governing. Thus, what should be a technical process has now turned into a political controversy whereby the government challenges more than the ballot box and that is pushing it too far. Turkey desperately needs to put this episode behind and turn to its heavily-loaded agenda. Okumaya devam et →

Turkey’s Municipal Elections: A Yellow Card for the Government

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Co-authored with Yusuf Buluc (*)

April 1, 2019

The significance of an election in a democratically governed country is determined by the context and the framework in which it is held, as well the political backdrop. If these parameters were to be applied to the municipal elections held yesterday in Turkey, in effect to determine choices for local administrations, the exercise takes on deeper and critical political character. Given where we are in our journey of modern and republican statehood close to a century, this election, as confirmed by the intensity with which the political parties have conducted their respective campaigns, brought us to a juncture with a sign boldly printed as “last exit for democracy”. Okumaya devam et →