The pieces for a political deal to end the Syrian civil war are coming together — if Ankara will let them.
Is Turkey Holding Up a Resolution in Syria?
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Kobane: Hunger Strikes and Air Strikes
A former Syrian Kurdish MP is hunger striking in Washington for action in Kobane.
Conflict Resolution 101: Talking With Hamas
If the U.S. wants to mediate a long-lasting peace in Israel-Palestine, it must negotiate with Hamas.
A U.S. Shift Away from Israel?
U.S. civil society is more critical of Israeli actions in Palestine than ever. When will the U.S. government catch up?
Egypt’s Fateful Choice: Democracy or Authoritarianism?
Algeria descended into civil war when its military suppressed the country’s democratically popular Islamists. Could the same happen in Egypt?
Standing Up in Turkey
I arrived in Istanbul last September just as protests were flaring up throughout Turkey. An activist had died at a protest in a southern city, one of several victims of the confrontations with riot police over the last year. By the time I got to Taksim Square in the...
The Kurdish Moment: Opportunity and Peril
For almost a century, the Kurds—one of the world’s largest ethnic groups without its own state—have been deceived and double-crossed, their language and culture suppressed, their villages burned and bombed, and their people scattered. But because of the U.S. invasion...
Turkey: Uprising’s Currents Run Deep
For the time being, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan—with brutal police tactics that killed four people and injured more than 8,000—appears to have successfully crushed demonstrations aimed at blocking the demolition of Gezi Park in central Istanbul and...
The Roots of Social Rebellion? Social Movements.
The lesson from the streets of Brazil, Turkey, and the Arab world is to avoid underestimating half-baked social movements still in their infancy. With technological advancements and opportune conjunctures, the underdogs of yesterday can quickly turn into the makers of tomorrow. Not every nascent movement cascades into a full-blown revolution, but the pathfinders whose thoughts and actions carry forward to make history must get their due recognition.