Karel Valansi'nin kaleminden...

Farklı bölgelerde devam eden savaş ve krizler, uluslararası ilişkilerde güç rekabetini öne çıkarıyor. Buna ABD’nin büyük güç olarak alışılmış rolünü yerine getirmekteki isteksizliği de eklendiğinde, 1945’ten bu yana kurulan uluslararası düzen ve yapı taşı olan kurumlar yıpranıyor. Bunun sonucu olarak belirsizlik artıyor ve mevcut küresel sistem bir geçiş döneminin sancılarını yaşıyor. Öte yandan bu durum, orta güç olarak tanımlanan ülkelere daha geniş bir hareket alanı da sağlıyor. Bu sayede orta güçteki ülkeler, sistemde dengeyi gözeten, arabuluculuk yapabilen, bölgesinin istikrarına katkı sağlayabilen, hatta zaman zaman kapasitesinin üzerinde sorumluluk ve inisiyatif alabilen, küresel düzeyde etkili roller oynayabilen aktörler haline geliyor. Özellikle belirsizlik dönemlerinde bu ülkeler çok yönlü diplomasi, proaktif dış politika, esnek ittifak arayışları ile öne çıkabiliyor. Türkiye, bu bağlamda, orta güçte bir devlet olarak dikkat çeken bir örnek teşkil ediyor. Jeostratejik konumu,...

“We shall defend our people with all the means at our disposal. We shall not allow any enemy to develop weapons of mass destruction turned against us. [If not,] another Holocaust would have happened in the history of the Jewish people. Never again, never again!” The words in the  title  and the above  quote  do not belong to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor address Israel’s recent Operation Rising Lion, a sophisticated military and  intelligence  campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, missile bases, key military personnel, and nuclear scientists. These words were reportedly Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s (1977-1983), following the 1981 strike on the Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdad, Iraq, codenamed  Operation Opera  -Israel’s first anticipatory self-defense operation to prevent an adversary from acquiring nuclear weapons. Thus, was born the Begin Doctrine; Israel’s strategic policy of preemptive action of self-defen...

“People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”           - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, interview with  Al Jazeera Arabic  on 26 February 2025  Three months later, this strong warning looks less like a threat and more like a prediction.  A decade ago, Iran was the region’s shadow puppeteer, proudly proclaiming its control over  four Arab capitals . However, its projection of power through proxies backfired. Ironically, this helped facilitate the surprise offensive of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, backed by Tehran’s regional rival, Türkiye. Moreover, its archenemy, Israel, has steadily weakened Iran and Hezbollah’s military capabilities in both Lebanon and Syria, especially following Iran-backed Hamas’ deadly cross-border attack on  October 7, 2023,  which indirectly enabled HTS’ takeover of Syria, the indispensable “jewel in the crown” of Iran’s regional network.[Met...

Geopolitical earthquakes are redrawing trade routes across Eurasia. Russia’s war in Ukraine has awakened Central Asian countries, which have discovered their strength through cooperation to develop their economies and attain independence. Without the constant attention of Russia, this cooperation contributes to developing  the Middle Corridor , a key trade route linking China to Europe via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the South Caucasus. It is an alternative to traditional east-west trade routes that bypasses Russia and Iran. The Middle Corridor is a  regional initiative , not an external, imposed idea. It boosts regional cooperation, flexibility, economic growth, and diplomatic dialogue. While Russia and China try to maneuver according to new geopolitical developments,  Iran   is ignored   in these initiatives. The Middle Corridor creates a strategic role for Turkey as a central energy hub connecting Europe to additional suppliers. The European Union (EU)...