Turkey: From state to faith based NGO (by Anat Lapidot-Firilla). The recent events between Israel and Turkey in addition to Turkey’s positioning on the side of Iran and tightening of relations with radical regimes in the region have raised question marks and warning signals in Washington and various European capitals. Efforts to label Turkish policy as motivated by Islam, or purely as … MORE

US–Turkish relations and the Obama administration: The impact on Greece and Cyprus (by Van Coufoudakis). When I discuss Turkish-American relations, I am reminded of the stereotypes from the Truman Doctrine period about Turkey being a “proud and independent country” in an important strategic location, and Greece being a “loyal and traditional friend” who will support the US … MORE

What is Turkey doing in the middle east? (by Didem Akyel). Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has taken on ambitious initiative after initiative during its eight years in office. It oversaw the opening of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations in 2005; changed entrenched nationalist positions on Armenia and Cyprus; launched efforts to address the problems of Turkey’s … MORE

“And bring all Cyprus comfort” (by Michalis S. Michael). Why is this small island-state in the Eastern Mediterranean still physically divided despite nearly four decades of persistent UN efforts to bring about a negotiated settlement? Is there anything new in this conflict which explains why Cyprus should be hitting the headlines – including enticing our former foreign minister … MORE

Turkish Cypriot politics, myths and realities (by Christophoros Christophorou). The explicit or symbolic favour of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and other western governments, as well as that of Ankara, to Mehmet Ali Talat’s re-election to the leadership of the Turkish Cypriots proved ineffective; veteran politician Dervis Eroglu continued his 2008 … MORE

Some thoughts on the Demopoulos case: A “legalistic” approach on “political” matters and a “political” conclusion on a “legal” issue (by Antonios St. Stylianou). Despite Camus’ infamous statement that ‘even in destruction, there’s a right way and a wrong way – and there are limits’, the recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of … MORE

The British election and after: What happened and what does it mean? (by Klaus Larres). The British general election took place on May 6, 2010. A few days earlier Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown had pronounced that he was “the most optimistic man in Britain, because I have got a plan for the future.” This optimism was not shared by the country at large. After 13 years in power, the … MORE

The Irish ‘miracle’ and its collapse: Learning the lessons (by Peadar Kirby). From 1995 until 2007, Ireland experienced a period of high economic growth, averaging around 7,5 per cent annually and in some years surpassing 10 per cent. Not only was this more than three times the average of European countries at the time but it made Ireland one of the most economically successful … MORE

Greece’s sudden faltering economy: Falling competitiveness and institutional weakness in a high GDP growth rate context (1995-2008) (by Theodore Pelagidis). Four factors led to the strong growth of Greece’s economy during 1995-08: 1. Greece’s economy accession to the eurozone together with the creation of competitive credit and capital markets as well as the … MORE

The Greek debt crisis, Germany and the Euro (by Yiannis Tirkides). Angela Merkel called the current economic crisis the ‘the greatest test Europe has faced since 1990, if not in the 53 years since the passage of the Treaties of Rome’. The survival of the eurozone and the single currency are at stake. The euro has dropped more than 20% against the dollar in less than six months to levels not … MORE