December 16, 2024
People aspire to democracy. Regardless of their respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, and the rule of law, all regimes claim to be democratic in some form because it remains the ultimate source of legitimacy to govern. Sadly, the year 2024 was not an inspiring year for democracy.
Okumaya devam etDecember 9, 2024
After thirteen years of internal fighting, loss of life, and devastation, the five-decade-long Assad regime was swept away in barely two weeks. President Hafez al-Assad, the father, was the President of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. He was Türkiye’s one and only regional enemy for years. For a decade, President Bashar al-Assad had the opportunity to transform Syria. Unfortunately, he was forced by the Syrian deep state to press ahead with his father’s autocratic rule, failed to moderate the regime, got Syria engulfed in the tremors of the Arab Spring, and caused much suffering. After all, democracy is not part of the Middle East’s political culture, but authoritarianism is. Nonetheless, he deserves credit for putting relations with Ankara on the right track in close cooperation with the AKP government.
Okumaya devam etDecember 4, 2024
The recent “rebel” offensive in northern Syria has brought multiple security challenges once again along our 911-kilometer border with our southern neighbor. The confusion it has caused is understandable because there are not only countries but many “rebel groups” with different interests. Relationships are intriguing and conflictual. As usual, attention is now focused on battlefield developments and the diplomatic flurry among the principal players. Nonetheless, how we got here is a lesson we, the people of Türkiye, should never forget as I have repetitiously underlined in earlier posts regarding Syria.
The following, with several minor grammatical corrections, is a blog post I published more than four years ago.
Okumaya devam etDecember 2, 2024
The year 2024 was largely dominated by the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon, and in mid-summer attention started to shift toward the US presidential election.
President Biden was determined to run for a second term. A growing number of Democratic leaders urged him to leave the race. He fought them bitterly until he finally concluded that he had no other option than quitting. But that came too late. Thus, the Democratic Party not only lost the presidential election but the Republicans won the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Then a race started among the actors in the two conflict areas for better bargaining positions before Mr. Trump assumed office.
Okumaya devam etNovember 22, 2024
On November 17, 2024, the 998th day of Russia’s invasion, Russia launched more than 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine. The same day, President Biden, in a significant shift in US policy, authorized Ukraine to use ballistic missiles, or ATACMS, for strikes limited to the Kursk region of western Russia in response to North Korea’s deployment of troops to support Moscow’s war effort.
Okumaya devam etNovember 18, 2024
On December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, leaving the stage to Boris Yeltsin as the President of Russia. The Soviet Union became history.
Okumaya devam etNovember 13, 2024
The stunning comeback of Mr. Trump as President-elect has triggered speculation about the future of US foreign policy, particularly regarding the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The latter’s past decade might offer some clues into the future.
Okumaya devam etNovember 11, 2024
For months the West anxiously watched the US presidential campaign. “Anxiously” because the world is in turmoil with the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon taking their toll, and there is a lack of leadership. The quality of the campaign, particularly Mr. Trump’s language, his distortion of facts, and the worries about political violence if he were to lose was disappointing.
Okumaya devam etOctober 31, 2024
On October 1, Iran fired 200 missiles at Israel. There was no clarity regarding the full scope of the damage to Israeli military bases. It was generally agreed that Iran was “more successful” in evading Israel’s defenses than in April when Iran had launched a barrage of missiles and drones targeting Israel nearly two weeks after the deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
Okumaya devam etOctober 28, 2024
BRICS currently comprises ten nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE. It represents about half of the world’s population. According to estimates, it now accounts for 37.3 % of the world’s GDP. It owns 44.35% of the world’s oil reserves.
Okumaya devam et
Diplomatik Yorum - Ali Tuygan 