Turning Values into Strategy By Mehmet Enes Beşer The EU–Japan security partnership represents a promising but insufficiently developed pillar of international security cooperation. Despite the shared values, economic interdependence, and commitment to the international order grounded on rules, the EU–Japan partnership has been viewed more as symbolic affirmation of mutual intentions rather than strategic action aimed at practical implementation of ...
The Sea-Lane Problem in a Western Pacific War By Mehmet Enes Beşer Indonesia likes to describe itself as non-aligned, a bridge, a stabilizer—an archipelagic power that doesn’t want to be drafted into someone else’s confrontation. That instinct is sensible. In a Western Pacific crisis, Jakarta’s best outcome is to stay out of the blast radius while protecting trade, energy flows, ...
Stalemate by Design, Escalation by Drift By Mehmet Enes Beşer There are fewer great power hotspots so long-lasting, so complicated, and so politically obstinate as the South China Sea. It has been a measure of great power competition, an experiment in naval convention, and a melting pot of nationalist anxieties for ten years. The 2025 picture is one of stalemate, ...
Rekindling the Flame By Mehmet Enes Beşer The new flare-up between Thailand and Cambodia in the year 2025 regarding the border dispute is just as much about historical antagonism as about unpredictable political undertows characterizing modern Southeast Asia. The most recent incident involving the mobilization of troops and nationalist posturing all across the region of the temples of the Preah ...
For China, the base is part of a strategic push for the development of a chain of strategic nodes in the Indo-Pacific. By Mehmet Enes Beşer Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base has emerged as a fulcrum of Southeast Asia’s geopolitically charged politics, the fine dance of great power politics and national interests. Bloating Cambodia-China relations at the base have surprised regional ...
From Bush to Obama… By Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein Note: Three weeks ago, I began publishing this article, which, due to its length, will be published in three installments. However, the death of Pope Francis and the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the United States’ defeat in Vietnam and the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in the Great ...
Between Sea and Strategy By Mehmet Enes Beşer In a more divided world in which global power balances are changing, and regional tensions are mounting, Japan again stands at a strategy fork. The decision it faces is both of the past and of the present: Will it adhere to an increasingly outdated security framework rooted in neo-realist power politics, or ...
The increased rivalry between Washington and Beijing, particularly on the technological and military arenas, can potentially cause more economic disruption. By Mehmet Enes Beşer The rekindled US-China tensions once more left Australia in a delicate economic position. A nation deeply engaged with both superpowers—strategically aligned with Washington but economically with Beijing—Australia is faced with a sour dilemma endangering its long-term ...
Economic Pressures and Enacting Reforms By Mehmet Enes Beşer In January 2024, Papua New Guinea (PNG) was rocked by mass civil unrest, as riots erupted in the national capital of Port Moresby and spread to other towns. The immediate cause was an instantaneous reduction in the pay of public servants, attributed by the government to a “technical glitch” in the ...
Persistent Challenges By Mehmet Enes Beşer The Solomon Islands, a Pacific island country, has long suffered a myriad of socio-economic and political issues. The country is at a critical juncture today under new leadership, where emerging challenges have to be overcome by comprehensive and masterminded solutions. The current paper expounds the key challenges for the Solomon Islands and avenues towards ...