When the launch of Operation Olive Branch was announced on January 20th, many experts and analysts had serious doubts about the fate of the operation that aimed to capture Afrin from the PKK's Syrian affiliate, the Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG). Military gains against Daesh with direct American support led to the YPG's image transforming into the most effective fighting force...

While Egypt witnessed a guideline example of an undemocratic election process, the Western "democracies" such as the U.S. and the U.K. rushed to celebrate Sisi's victory. Immediately after the election results were announced, U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May called Sisi to express their support for the "democratization" process in the country....

It is obvious that Mohammad bin Salman's Saudi Arabia will continue to become an active and interventionist regional player with strong support from international actors. The country will also continue to employ hard power capabilities in partnership with its regional allies such as the UAE, Egypt and Israel. For many years, Saudi Arabia has followed a passive foreign policy...

The recent announcement of President Trump to withdraw American troops from Syria has not only further complicated the situation for the international actors involved in the crisis but also enabled speculations about the future of the Turkish-American confrontation in Syria. Over the past years, the U.S. military involvement in the Syrian crisis has become a widely discussed topic...

The Turco-Qatari military cooperation holds a great potential in countering the Saudi-Iranian rivalry in the Middle East and thus the increased balance against them. In the end, if Turkey succeeds balancing Iran and Saudi Arabia without losing much potential in the process, there will be a more collaborative and peaceful security complex considering the methods Turkey utilizes in...

On the 58th day of the military campaign Operation Olive Branch, Turkey declared its victory against the PKK/YPG in Afrin. Following the collapse of the PKK's defense strategy and its unexpected isolation within the geopolitical struggle, the city is now under full control of the Turkish Armed Forces and the TAF-backed Free Syrian Army. One way or another, it is clear that this...

Over the past few years, the political arena in Egypt has witnessed an unprecedented period of oppression. The leading indicators of this situation can be listed as Abdel Fattah al-Sisi administration's harsh stance towards the peaceful opposition after seizing control of the state with a military coup in 2013, the exclusion of the civilian agents in the country from political...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been one of the leading countries in the Middle East in terms of aggressive foreign policy. This activism is easily observed in Abu Dhabi's response to the revolutionary uprisings in the Arab world. The UAE has supported the Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi regime in Egypt; it has become an active player in Libyan politics and played a great role in Yemen's...

Turkey achieved what the U.S. – who has immense diplomatic power – could not do. Through its effective diplomatic efforts, Ankara managed to gain support from other leading countries across the world on the issue of Jerusalem. During the vote on a resolution proposed to the United Nations General Assembly on December 21, 2017, which condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's...

Seven years have passed since Egypt's revolution in 2011. While the revolutionary process ended with a military coup in 2013, counterrevolutionary actors established a powerful authoritarian regime in the country. While the regime in Cairo has continuously inflicted human rights violations on its citizens, it has tried to establish strong relations with international actors to...