TURKISH STUDIES

Caroline Glick
(World-renowned journalist and commentator on the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy, and the author of The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East)

Copyright: http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2018/05/18/caroline-glick-endgame-for-the-u-s-turkey-relationship/ Posted at RIEAS web site (www.rieas.gr) on 20 May 2018.

On Monday, NATO ally Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Washington. The severe step is meant to punish the U.S. for opening an embassy in Jerusalem on Monday.

Also Monday, Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador to Turkey. It had already withdrawn its ambassador from Tel Aviv. Read more

Member states must break with Erdogan’s Islamic extremism

Daniel Pipes
(President of the Middle East Forum)

Copyright: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/16/nato-must-be-saved-from-turkey/ Monday, October 16, 2017

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, known as NATO, faces an existential problem.

No, it’s not about getting member states to fulfill agreed-upon spending levels on defense. Or finding a role after the Soviet collapse. Or standing up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Rather, it’s about Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Islamist, dictatorial ruler of Turkey whose policies threaten to undermine this unique alliance of 29 states that has lasted nearly 70 years. Read more

by Winfield Myers
(Director of academic affairs at the Middle East Forum and director of Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum)

The Gatestone Institute September 21, 2017

Copyright: http://www.meforum.org/6929/turkeys-erdogan-tries-to-censor-us-think-tank

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan often seems to fancy himself a world-striding figure capable of bullying anyone, anywhere he likes. As the world saw this past May, when his security forces launched what police called a "brutal attack" against peaceful demonstrators outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington, D.C., opponents of his dictatorial regime have good reason to fear for their safety, even in America. Read more

Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak

(Researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies (MDC), Tel Aviv University. He serves as Turkey analyst for the Doron Halpern Middle East Network Analysis Desk’s publication, Bee Hive, and is co-editor of Turkeyscope)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr)
Publication date: 20 August 2017

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Re-search Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

Despite the shadow of historical rivalry and significant political disagreements, Greece and Turkey enjoy a relatively neighborly relationship. The personal relations linked to tourism, culture, music and food constitute the backbone of this fragile stability. However, these alone are insufficient to form a complete picture of one state and its citizens in the eyes of another. Thus, alongside the platform of civic dialogue, states' education systems and their auto-biographies - i.e the school textbooks – act as complimentary tool in shaping a country's reputation....Read more

Assoc. Prof. Mahmut Cengiz
(Senior researcher at Centre for Regional Studies of Global Policy and Strategy Institute. Currently, he is also a research scholar at Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at George Mason University. He is a leading expert on transnational crime, corruption, terrorism, money laundering, and terrorist financing as well as human trafficking and smuggling of nuclear materials with a particular focus on the Middle East. He specializes on the relationship between crime and conflict in peacekeeping missions. He is also a security expert on policies related to crime and terror issues)

Copyright: http://globalinitiative.net/how-organized-crime-and-terror-are-linked-to-oil-smuggling-along-turkeys-borders/

Oil smuggling is a lucrative financial source for organized crime and terrorist groups and an example of how demand for cheaper oil creates opportunities for criminals and terrorists in Turkey. The country’s high taxes, its proximity to neighboring countries with cheaper oil prices, difficult controlling its borders and harbors and endemic corruption are the main factors that lead to oil smuggling in Turkey. Read more

Tassos Symeonides
(RIEAS Academic Advisor)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 18 April 2017

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

Erdogan won the April 16 referendum by a narrow margin. How dangerous is he now as newly minted sultan-for-life, provided he lasts?
Erdogan is unpredictable, suspicious, and impulsive. He is also revengeful and ruthless when dealing with enemies, both true and fictional. He sees conspiracies coming from all points of the horizon. In other words, he clearly demonstrates the obsessive character traits which distinguish dictators from normal people. His paranoia is increasing proportionally to his recent revengeful, hostile rants against Europe. In a recent reshuffle of his spy agency, he created a unit of dark “special operations” to wage total war against enemies inside and outside Turkey...Read more