Geopolitics

Marathon peace talks between the U.S. and Russia have reportedly produced a sweeping new agreement on Syria, including a nationwide ceasefire and coordinated strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al Qaeda-affiliated militants. The top Russian and American diplomats on Saturday cheered the details …

The continuing horrific destruction and violence in Syria constitute the most severe indictment of the international community’s efforts and ability to deal with issues relating to peace and security. Britain’s early 20th century version of Paul Wolfowitz Rewind to the First World War. In December 1915, Mark Sykes, …

On the night of July 15, elements of the Turkish military attempted a coup. It was a poorly organized effort that was defeated by a combination of people power, loyal units and serendipity. What made this failed effort remarkable was the putschists’ extreme brutality against civilians who resisted or …

The Turkish military operation symbolizes a new phase in the Syrian Civil War. Turkey has resisted calls for “boots on the ground” since the early phases of the Syrian crisis, which eventually led Ankara to face the twin threats of the PKK’s territorial enlargement in northern Syria and …

For better or worse, we are living in exciting times. On the one hand, globalization and rapid technological change are creating huge opportunities. On the other hand, the gains are not evenly distributed. The major winners are: 1. Hundreds of million people in formerly closed economies who have been …

As the first practical implementation of the US-Russian understandings that have been reached in closed “black rooms,” several Kurdish parties, and in the aftermath of the Turkish intervention in Syria to keep Kurdish armed forces eastern Euphrates, the Kurds started thinking of the establishment of a “federal regime” …

The main architect of Washington’s plan to rule the world has abandoned the scheme and called for the forging of ties with Russia and China. While Zbigniew Brzezinski’s article in The American Interest titled “Towards a Global Realignment” has largely been ignored by the media, it shows that …

Syria’s Kurds appear to be in the process of making a mistake of monumental proportions. Central government offices in the north-eastern provincial capital of al-Hasaka are reported to have been evacuated after being overrun by Kurdish forces – specifically, units of the Asayish militia affiliated to the People’s …