In The News

Coalition in Turkey Could Alter the Country’s Foreign Policy Direction

Chris Miller June 18, 2015
Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party, or AK, won the most votes in the June 7 election, but not enough to dodge the need for building a coalition in parliament. The coalition AK builds could swing right or left with implications for foreign policy, explains Chris Miller, a PhD student at Yale University and a research associate with the Hoover Institution. “A right-wing coalition...

Best Way to Defeat the Islamic State in Syria: Remove Assad

Con Coughlin June 10, 2015
Defense ministers and analysts are grasping at straws on how to eliminate Islamic State extremists and stabilize the Middle East. Removing Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad could be a solution. The United States and coalition partners invaded Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein from power; 12 years later, the country is in chaos, threatened by brutal extremists, with violence and desperate refugees...

The Kurdish Rescue of Turkish Democracy

Kemal Kirişci and Melis Cengiz June 8, 2015
With more than 85 percent voters casting ballots, Turks defeated President Recep Erdogan's attempt to consolidate power. “Erdogan had one ambition for this election: for the AK Party to gain the minimum 330 parliamentary seats required to call a referendum on establishing a presidential regime,” writes Kemal Kirişci, director of the Center on the United States and Europe's Turkey...

The ISIS March Continues: From Ramadi on to Baghdad?

Hassan Hassan May 20, 2015
The self-proclaimed Islamic State continues to scratch its way to controlling territory in Iraq, capturing Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar province, after Iraqi troops fled. The terrorist group also made gains in Syria. Such military successes increase the terrorist group’s ability to attract new recruits. The United States and other countries provide support with air strikes, but ground...

The Saudi Connection: Wahhabism and Global Jihad

Carol E. B. Choksy and Jamsheed K. Choksy May 14, 2015
The United States and Saudi Arabia, once strong allies, disagree over how to handle multiple challenges in the Middle East. The royal family condemns terrorism to western diplomats, but promotes a fundamentalist ideology: “the Saudis have been the most persistent source of support for global jihad by spreading Wahhabism abroad to radicalize foreign Muslims and then giving financial support to...

An Unending Refugee Tragedy: Europe's Path to Deadly Partition

Matthias Gebauer, Horand Knaup, Peter Müller, Maximilian Popp, Jörg Schindler and Christoph Schult April 28, 2015
European leaders were ashamed after the 2013 sinking of a rickety boat with more than 500 refugees near the Italian island of Lampedusa. The EU promised measures to avoid such tragedies, but thousands still use life savings to attempt the treacherous crossing, fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa, Syria and beyond. Many refugees do not survive. The article in Spiegel Online reviews the array of...

Will the Real Iran Please Stand Up?

Robert A. Manning April 28, 2015
The nations negotiating to curb Iran’s nuclear research program are divided over strategy, including the intensity of inspections and the schedule for lifting sanctions. Iran is divided, too, explains Robert A. Manning, a senior fellow of the Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security at the Atlantic Council and its Strategic Foresight Initiative. Iranian leaders are issuing conflicting...