Here are the details of the plan, its reflections on the ground, and its possible effects… By Adem Kılıç, Political Scientist/Writer The remarks made by Tom Barrack, the US Special Representative for Syria, in recent months that ‘the Sykes-Picot era is now over’ have undoubtedly sparked a new debate. While some commentators suggest that this is an admission that Western ...

The most crucial innovations will be those which enhance ecosystems, livelihoods, and peoples on the gray fringes of urban life. By Mehmet Enes Beşer Southeast Asian urbanization is a demographic tendency—it is additionally a political, economic, and ecological milestone. As urban masses swell with countryside-to-city migration, increased incomes, and urban infrastructure expansion, the region grapples with a query squarely at ...

With this decisive maneuver, Beijing has begun to bring the tension with the U.S. onto its own terms. By Orçun Göktürk, from Beijing / China While the world was focused on U.S. President Donald Trump’s essentially “dictated” ceasefire in Gaza, his 20-point “Peace Plan,” and diplomacy in Western Asia, an unexpected move from Beijing redrew the global economic map and ...

On the recent ceasefire and its regional framework. By Mohammed Sabreen, from Cairo / Egypt US President Donald Trump is pursuing the elusive “peace” in the Middle East through the gateway of ending the war in Gaza. Trump has tried hard to market himself as a “peacemaker” and end numerous conflicts, hoping to win the Nobel Peace Prize. However, the ...

A ground-level report from a Venezuela that refuses to surrender—economically, militarily, or morally. by Fabrizio Verde, from Caracas / Venezuela Late August. The Caribbean Sea—usually a postcard of turquoise waters and cruise-ship tranquility—has turned into a stage for Cold War–style brinkmanship. The United States, in a move evoking its darkest interventions, has deployed warships and a nuclear-powered submarine just miles ...

Washington finalized a $20 billion currency swap framework with Argentina and bought pesos, making good on President Donald Trump’s pledge. Here’s what he gets in exchange. By Rodolfo Treber, Buenos Aires, Argentina* The economic policy of Javier Milei ‘s government consolidates a historical pattern in Argentina’s relationship with international financial capital: the use of foreign debt not as an instrument ...

The Calculus of Necessity Shapes the Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement By Islam Farag, from Cairo / Egypt In the early hours of last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had reached the first phase of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. As the ceasefire took effect, ending a two-year war, cautious optimism mixed with deep apprehension ...

ASEAN can establish a “Green Coastal Shipping Corridor” project. By Mehmet Enes Beşer Short-sea shipping has been the backbone of maritime Southeast Asia for centuries. From Singapore and Manila ports to Indonesia’s sea lines of the archipelago and the inland water transport network of the Mekong Delta, short-sea shipping is an economic driver and a logistics imperative. Yet even as ...

And recent conflicts in West Asia. By Gökalp Erbaş The proposal of Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which is part of the ruling coalition in Türkiye, for a “Türkiye-Russia-China (TRÇ) alliance against the US-Israel evil alliance” has sparked discussions about the possibility and conditions of such an alliance. One wonders how this alliance proposal resonates in ...

Charting a New Course in a Polarized World By Mehmet Enes Beşer The promise of a “New Malaysia” first captured global attention in 2018, when a surprise electoral upset ended sixty-two unbroken years of Barisan Nasional coalition government. Pakatan Harapan coalition win—and return to politics of veteran politician Mahathir Mohamad—was welcomed as a democratic victory, a harbinger that Malaysia was ...