Greece has attracted in recent weeks a great deal of rather unwanted and unsavoury attention due to its ailing state finances. The EU Council Meeting of 11 February fell short of announcing a bailout package; it stressed, however, European support for the Greek governments’ fiscal austerity programme and underlined that European authorities would support Greece’s [...]

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is known for his spontaneous and unpredictable character. In several occasions, he has behaved in ways which have surprised even his closest advisors. The recent “Davos crisis” with Israel is the prime example of this. On 23 May, Erdogan relapsed. He succeeded in stirring domestic and international attention with [...]

In his first visit of Europe and the Middle East, US President Barack Obama attempted in several occasions to clearly distinguish himself from the policies of his predecessor George W Bush. His attempts to transcend the “Old Europe-New Europe” jargon and give a new meaning to the transatlantic partnership were evident. Yet there was a [...]

In his first visit of Europe and the Middle East, US President Barack Obama attempted in several occasions to clearly distinguish himself from the policies of his predecessor George W Bush. His attempts to transcend the “Old Europe-New Europe” jargon and give a new meaning to the transatlantic partnership were evident. Yet there was a [...]

The visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Ankara last week hid a pleasant surprise for Turkish diplomacy. It was announced that the US President Barack Obama would visit Turkey in the framework of his first visit to Europe next month. After visiting London to attend the G-20 Summit and Prague to participate [...]

The meetings of the World Economic Forum in Davos are known for their ambition to act as catalysts in long-lasting international disputes. Davos’ idyllic Alpine landscape and the informal character of the meetings are meant to help leaders reach conciliation and conflict resolution. This was the apparent intention of the organisers when they organised a [...]

A SERIES of arrests in the last weeks has brought to the fore the links of the Turkish deep state (derin devlet) with one of the most paradoxical constructions of Turkish nationalism, the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate. Criminal investigation has been unravelling the traces of the Ergenekon gang, a product of the cooperation between the Turkish [...]

The riots, which shook Athens and a number of other Greek cities last week, understandably attracted considerable attention by Turkish media. Detailed reports appeared on several newspapers, and columnists attempted to explain the events and link them to developments in Turkey. In the past, Turkish media interest in such news originating from Greece would have [...]

The election of Obama to the US presidency may well mean a shift of USpolicy in Iraq in the near future. This will inevitably involve Iraqi Kurdsand Turkey. Finding common ground with Iraqi Kurds in the framework of apost-conflict Iraq solution will be a golden opportunity for Turkey toundercut the lifeline of the PKK. To [...]