...ship in promoting “peace, justice and human rights.” In his acceptance speech during the award ceremony, Erdogan stated that the prize will further strengthen and support his struggle for human rights for people in the Middle East and all around the world. He explained Turkey’s drive to strive for peace through the Alliance of Civilizations initiative under the United Nations and continue negotiations with the European Union in an attempt to carr...
...ery real one—especially given Israel’s pride in the strength of its armed forces. But there’s reason to believe that 2012 is not 2008. To be frank, with recent tectonic shifts of the political and social terrain in the Middle East, Israel can’t afford another ground war and occupation of Gaza. The Israeli position now is not as secure as it once was four years ago. The Middle East of 2008 is not the Middle East of 2012, and the Hamas of 2008 is n...
...ish demonstrators have gathered to protest a move to ban 12 of their candidates from the Turkish general election – a ripple in an occasionally violent wave of unrest that has spread from the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir in the east to the European side of Istanbul. But only blocks away, pedestrians on Istiklal Caddesi, an elegant avenue lined by Parisian-style buildings and an old-time tramway, seem un-phased by the crowds of riot police and demon...
This will be my last entry for the year; I want to take this opportunity, then, to look back, as well as forward, and reflect on the extraordinary events that occurred this year. It has long since become cliché to wax poetic about the momentous changes that are now sweeping the Middle East. That is not to say that these events are any less momentous than all the hype; I will try to avoid repeating it here, but forgive me if my enthusiasm shows...
...ted and centralized Chinese government and a general distrust of religious minorities)? RK: It is both. China needs the territory, which is one-sixth of China, and the natural resources. But China sees Uighurs, the masters of East Turkestan, as an impediment to getting both. The rationale then is, China will have everything only if with no more Uighurs. Repression is justified and ongoing. Some Chinese scholars have also suggested that to settle...
The age of the Arab dictator is over. The current wave of unrest sweeping the Middle East has deposed two dictators, spilt much blood and fundamentally shaken the status quo. Already, the movement that began with a few street demonstrations in Tunis has led to a regime change in Egypt and threatens to overthrow the monarchy in Bahrain, a military regime in Libya, a dictatorship in Yemen and many other governments throughout the region. What coul...
...gic miscalculation, because the opposition has made serious inroads, and it can put an end to the fighting with some assistance. Helping in Syria isn’t clean, but it is necessary. Planning a (first) Apology Tour to the Middle East. No, Obama did not apologize for America in 2009. Out of all the false claims made by both sides during the campaign, this specific Republican criticism has been debunked as the falsest. But in 2013 it is, in fact, time...
from Wikimedia Commons In their last debate before Election Day, President Obama and Mitt Romney argued over issues in foreign policy – and by issues in foreign policy, I mean issues in the Middle East. The debate was fully dominated by talk of the region, including the civil war in Syria, the growing threat of a nuclear Iran, and the winding-down war in Afghanistan. But despite the overwhelming focus on the Middle East, noticeably absent from t...
The Columbia Political Review is participating in an Alliance of College Editors forum on the recent Egyptian protests. Here is the first in a series of thoughts and responses from collegiate political writers across the nation. Check back every two days for a new forum response, including responses from students right here at Columbia University. Authoritarian regimes across the Middle East are atremble as popular revolution threatens to engul...
This past week has seen America’s Middle East policies called into question as violent riots and protests have raged across the region. The apparent cause of such fury? A very low-quality independent film called “The Innocence of Muslims” that was produced in the US. Lengthy clips from the film, which paints a highly unsavory picture of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and viciously skewers the faith, were uploaded to YouTube and became known to peo...
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