Unveiling the Socio-Environmental Costs By Mehmet Enes Beşer Mongolia’s extensive mineral resources have turned it into a rapidly emerging mining center, with very high promises of rapid economic development and growth. But overlying this veneer of prosperity is a richly embroidered brocade of environmental degradation, social dislocation, and economic problems that need to be thoroughly examined. Environmental Degradation: The Ecological ...
Preserving culture and legal rights against the Greek authorities. The Turkish Union of Iskeçe (in Greek: Xanthi), the first civil society organization established by the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, is celebrating its 98th anniversary. Founded on April 14, 1927, by members of the Turkish community in the region, the organization has been working to preserve the identity, culture, and values ...
Interview with Gürlan Demir, Tehran correspondent of Turkish TV channel Ulusal Kanal. Negotiations between Iran and the US over a possible “nuclear deal” are ongoing, but with no clear end in sight. There is serious discussion about whether military options might come into play. And of course, Israel remains as “unofficial” participant of negotiations. How does Iran view the negotiations ...
To turn towards Eurasia would also convey a powerful symbolic signal: that the Philippines will not be a passive arena for competition among the great powers. By Mehmet Enes Beşer The Philippines has long been one of America’s most devoted friends in Asia. Bonded through history, defense relations, and mutual strategic stakes in the Indo-Pacific, Manila has come to be ...
The Risk to World Leaders and Global Security Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has once again demonstrated his determination to continue the war, rejecting Russia’s offer of a three-day ceasefire on May 9, Victory Day, a holiday primarily celebrated in the CIS countries. According to the Kremlin, the offer was intended to test Ukraine’s readiness to seek peaceful solutions to the ...
But China is not Japan… By Orçun Göktürk from Beijing / China On September 22, 1985, the United States hosted its allies within the “capitalist bloc” at the Plaza Hotel in New York. The main objective of the meeting, attended by West Germany, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom, was to reduce the value of the excessively overvalued U.S. dollar—particularly ...
Hungarian political scientist Thibaud Gibelin explains the background. The Hungarian Parliament first banned LGBT marches. Then the Parliament passed a constitutional amendment preventing Pride events. According to the amendment, only male and female genders will be recognized in the country. The aim of the legal regulation is “to protect children physically and emotionally”. Yet, it has another aspect articulated by ...
Her death indicates the organic link between the sports mafia and politics. By Ljubodrag Duci Simonović, from Belgrade / Serbia * Over twenty years ago, in April 1987, a twenty-six-year-old heptathlete, Birgit Dressel, died in West Germany. An investigation was opened at the request of her parents. The findings of the criminal investigator and the medical investigating committee in charge ...
Europe has spent decades teaching the world about multilateralism, openness, and cooperation. Now, it must practice what it preached. By Mehmet Enes Beşer With the return of Donald Trump to the White House, the European Union finds itself facing an uncomfortable truth: its long-standing dependence on the United States—strategically, economically, and ideologically—is becoming a liability. As U.S. foreign policy pivots ...
Voices from the PKK and the Kurdish community By Deniz Yıldırım How was Abdullah Öcalan’s call to lay down arms and dissolve the PKK received among PKK circles in Europe? What did Kurdish associations, writers, and academics say about this call, which is likely to have significant repercussions in Türkiye, the region, and Europe? Some within PKK-affiliated circles voiced strong ...