Asia

In Turkey, Erdogan tries to distance himself from Ataturk’s legacy even as his actions recreate some of the very policies he decries in his predecessor. Is Erdogan in the process of building a cult of personality that could surpass that of the country’s founding father?

Erdogan’s dominance in Turkish politics should not obscure the fact that the individual office holder rather than an ideologically-grounded bloc is now the fulcrum upon which Turkish politics shifts.

At Erdoğan’s election in 2002, he appeared to be the latest in a line of populists elected to office. Initially, his success seemed the result of an ability as an Islamist to appease the concerns of the secular establishment. The attempt by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to reimagine Turkish democracy for the 21st century took the form of a general push for constitutional reform.

In Turkey, generations of political leaders have used constitutional reform as an opportunity to set their political agenda and highlight their priorities. The 2017 referendum must be understood in the context of a democracy where voters have experienced successive constitutional reforms aimed at complementing the mission each new generation of leaders gives itself.

இல்லங்களில் ஆங்கில மொழியின் புழக்கம் அதிகரிக்க, அதிகரிக்க, தமிழ்மொழியின் பயன்பாடு குறைந்துக்கொண்டே வருகின்றது. சிங்கையில் தமிழ்மொழியின் முக்கியத்துவத்தை வலுப்படுத்த சில பரிந்துரைகளை பார்கவ் ஸ்ரீகணேஷ் முன்வைக்கிறார்.

In this episode of the Middle East Weekly podcast we discuss the events that occurred in Gaza this past weekend, where the Israeli Defense Forces killed 18 people and injured nearly 1000 in reaction to Palestinian demonstrations near the border fence which separates Gaza from Israel. The Palestinian protests began on the anniversary of Land […]

To begin this week’s podcast, Mariam Ghanem updates us on the unsurprising results of the elections in Egypt. Then, Blaire Byg discusses Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s tour of the US, which has included visits with celebrities like Oprah in addition to the more predictable cast of politicians and journalists. It seems that MBS is […]

Although fighters have been offered the chance to leave eastern Ghouta, as in Aleppo, there is no longer a clear safe haven to which they could flee. Combined with the regime’s systematic denial of humanitarian aid, the conditions there have become increasingly unlivable as the death toll continues to climb.

Singapore’s bike-sharing market has expanded dramatically in the past year. Huey Lee and Nicholas Lui explain the economics underlying the all-in strategy many firms have taken, how the firms can be profitable, and what the Government’s regulatory responses should be.

Perhaps it is time to ask if Mahmoud Abbas, now 82 and in the fourteenth year of his original four-year term in office, should work harder to gain strong domestic support for a sustained international campaign against the Israeli occupation.

In this week’s episode of the Middle East Weekly podcast, we discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta, Syria, where over 1,000 people have been killed in 2 weeks and 400,000 families are living under siege, as Bashar al Assad’s forces attack the rebel-held city.

BY EKRAM IBRAHIM When President Donald Trump declared in December that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, many observers heard a death knell for Palestinian hopes that Jerusalem would serve as the future capital of an independent state. But in reality, aspirations for an Arab Jerusalem died long before – […]