Leveraging Middle Powers By Mehmet Enes Beşer Southeast Asia is uncomfortably in the middle of 21st-century great power rivalry. China-US competition speeding up with military interventions, economic decoupling, and competing visions of the region has placed ASEAN countries uncomfortably in the middle. With the South China Sea, cyberspace, and sea lanes as the fulcrums, regional strategic contours are increasingly defined ...

For Macron, the true nightmare isn’t in the Middle East; it’s in the banlieues and the rural heartlands. by Yunus Emre Özgün When Washington and Tel-Aviv launched their sudden offensive against Tehran, the shockwaves didn’t just hit the Middle East—they immediately fractured whatever was left of a European consensus. Caught entirely off-guard, European capitals are now scrambling to draft a ...

US motivation goes far beyond Iran. The United States has deliberately incited a war against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran’s reactions following the US assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei came as no surprise to Washington. Contrary to what some argue, I do not share the idea that the US was expecting a “regime collapse” in Iran following the ...

For much of its history, Pakistan pursued what planners called “strategic depth”: the belief that Afghanistan could function as a stable western rear guard against India. When the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, some in Islamabad believed that vision might finally be realized. Instead, the opposite occurred. By Dure Akram, from Lahore / Pakistan No state can ...

Posted by by Halim Gençoğlu 9 Min Read March 8, 2026 When the Israeli-born Jewish academic Prof. Dr. Israel Shahak said, “The Nazis made me afraid to be Jewish; the Israelis made me ashamed to be Jewish,” he was questioning the legal identity of the state of Israel. Similarly, the American linguist, philosopher, and political activist of Jewish origin, Noam ...

Trump mistakenly assumed that Khamenei’s martyrdom would lead to the collapse and demise of the Islamic Republic. Socrates said, “True wisdom lies in recognizing one’s own ignorance.” Many things are being said, but it’s not known for sure whether the decision to attack Iran was a miscalculation based on information the CIA gave Trump claiming that Iran was fragile and ...

It needs deeper habits of cooperation—institutions, bureaucratic routines, long-term coordination that outlives individual leaders and news cycles. By Mehmet Enes Beşer Let’s be honest: the old “one sheriff in town” story is tired. You still hear it in policy speeches—usually delivered with a straight face—but it doesn’t describe how the world actually behaves anymore. Power is scattered. Influence is negotiated. ...

This story began with the Arab Spring to destabilize major regional powers like Syria, Yemen, and Egypt, followed by ISIS seizing large areas of Syria and Iraq. From Cairo / Egypt With the successive strikes hitting the Gulf states since the outbreak of the American-Israeli aggression against Iran, many are wondering whether the transformation of these countries into a battlefield—in ...

China’s economic recovery is at an intersection. It can either fix a two-tier society with thinly spread growth, or it can embrace inclusive growth that lifts all boats. By Mehmet Enes Beşer China’s economic rebound since the pandemic has been patchy, paradoxical, and sometimes misleading. While macroeconomic metrics—exports, manufacturing production, and state-led infrastructure investment—blink flashes of strength, the foundation of ...

Politicians and experts from Bangladesh and Pakistan shared their views with UWI. Following the US and Israeli attack, Iran responded regionally. The effects of the conflict are beginning to be felt worldwide. What are the perceptions of politicians and experts in South Asia? We asked leaders and experts in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Bangladesh Workers’ Party: Iran the latest chain after ...

Interview to Turkish TV channel Ulusal Kanal. UWI author and political scientist Onur Sinan Güzaltan was guest to Türkiye’s Ulusal Kanal to evaluate the latest developments in the war between the US-Israeli and Iran. We present the main points of Güzaltan’s evaluation, translated into English. ———————————————————————————— Mr. Güzaltan, the US-Israeli strikes are ongoing, and Iran is continuing its retaliatory responses. ...

Support from the youth and women in front of the Istanbul Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran The Youth Union of Türkiye (TGB) and the Republican Women’s Association (CKD) organized a historic action titled “Angels of Minab” in front of the Istanbul Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, standing against the aggression of the United States ...