Putin’s Eurasian Union: A danger or strategic opportunity?
When Vladimir Putin recently published an article in the Russian daily Izvestia that officially announced his plans for the establishment of an Eurasian Union in the geographical space of former USSR countries, he caused quite an uproar in the Western media.1 The headlines such as those in the Telegraph run that Putin’s wish is nothing [...]
China-U.S. Competition to lead Asian Development
A new ‘Great Game’ in Asia-Pacific arena arouses the antagonism and the rivalries between old and new world powers. The future of the United States is closely connected to and dependent on the Asian geopolitical chessboard. Therefore, last week, President Obama said in his speech to the Australian Parliament that: Let there be no doubt: in the Asia-Pacific in the 21st century, the [...]
Egypt: Facing the Challenge of Democracy
The elections in Egypt are a great deal since the aim of the Tahrir Revolution was and still is ‘democracy’. Considering the on-going experiences of my country, Turkey, I am very well aware that the consolidation of democracy is not something that might come over in one election. It will take years before Egypt is [...]
Drug Trafficking and Countermeasures in Turkey: A General Assessment
Drug trafficking has been on the global agenda for more than a century.1 In simplest terms, it is a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws.2 Globally, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that between 149 and 272 million people, [...]
Ten awkward questions to ask Crazy Crab, cartoonist who challenges China’s Great Firewall
EVERYONE is looking, but nobody knows who he is. Bloggers around the world, censors and guardians of the World Wide Web, national and foreign press. In recent weeks, there is too much talk about him, Crazy Crab, pseudonym of the first cartoonist who challenges China’s Great Firewall doing political satire. Hexie Farm is a political [...]
Turkish Women’s Movement
It is known that cultures have deep impact on societies and ‘directs’ its people. Cultures consist of long-term practices, traditions, customs, proverbs and more. Moreover, cultures usually shape the way people live. The culture in Turkey has limited the Turkish Women’s Movement, but has not destroyed it. However, cultures can be changed very slowly. For [...]
Europe agrees to boost EFSF – possible implications and problems
Last week brought a breakthrough in the EU’s fight against the lingering eurozone crisis that threatens to bring down the project of the common currency and, as some fear, the whole EU with it. The announcement that European leaders have come to an agreement about boosting the European Financial Stability Facility’s (EFSF) coffers so its [...]
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