Policy Analysis

Institute Turkey scholar Soner Cagaptay's guide to both the inspiring potential and the grave challenges of Turkey's transformation into a true regional and global power.

Behind the government's political transition and security measures lies a deeply unstable country.

Prime Minister Erdogan's increasingly autocratic rule has alienated the Gulen movement.

The announcement of the agreement, just weeks before scheduled peace negotiations in Switzerland, will be seen as an expression of extra diplomatic support for Damascus by Moscow and of gratitude by the Assad regime to an ally.

The kingdom is codifying current legal practices that do not distinguish between terrorists and nonviolent activists.

As the fighting in Syria continues with no signs of decisive victory on the horizon, the Assad regime may decide to abandon parts of the country entirely and form a statelet in the western governorates that remain largely under its control. Such an entity could include as much as 40

France and Germany need to realize that a genuine path to European Union membership is Turkey's surest path to greater democratization.

Monitoring jihadist social-media networks reveals where fighters are coming from, where in Syria they are fighting, and how best to stem their continued recruitment in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Tunisia.

The dominant power in Syria's Kurdish regions, the PYD, is deeply problematic but shares some common interests with the United States.

Victory is not assured for the regime, but trends are moving in its favor.

The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation offers its latest assessment of how many foreigners are fighting in Syria's civil war, which countries they hail from, and other key data.

Ennahda's agreement to step aside under peaceful popular pressure, at long last, sets an encouraging but all-too-rare example -- yet one that may not last.

As Egypt prepares to vote on a constitution that could prove economically ruinous or, at best, ineffectual, Washington and its regional allies should discuss ways of encouraging Cairo to pursue much-needed reforms.

Morocco's exceptional stability following the Arab Spring and its penchant for close relations with the West make it worthy of significant U.S. attention and encouragement.

Buoyed by a decade of economic growth, Turkey is more prosperous than ever before. At the forefront of this transformation, Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) has reaped the rewards of economic success and political prestige. But as the party strives to institutionalize its gains, it faces growing challenges at

Stories of Arabs who helped Jews, often at great personal risk, are part of the history of the Holocaust and the history of Tunisia, and they deserve their rightful place in both stories.

Hezbollah recruited operatives with dual citizenship to carry out the bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria.

A Moroccan parliamentary proposal that would ban normalization with Israel has progressed further than expected but is unlikely to pass.

Middle Easterners fear the White House will return to bad habits by dropping its demands on Syria in order to appease Iran.