Karel Valansi'nin kaleminden...

After Brexit in the United Kingdom and Donald Trump's victory in the U.S., the world has been anxiously awaiting European elections where populist names have been resurgent. In many European countries, populist leaders and their political parties/movements are definitely on the rise. We can see this trend in many European countries including France. For the first time in its history, France is going into the second round of the presidential elections without any of its traditional political parties.

The polls were right this time. The first round of the French presidential election ended as they predicted. Thirty-nine-year-old centrist Emmanuel Macron will be facing off against right-wing extremist Marine Le Pen on May 7. The French voters will head to the polls for the second round to choose between an ex-banker who is new to the political scene and Le Pen, the heir to the xenophobic National Front. Surveys show that voters will unite behind Macron, not because he has a major agenda but due to the "anyone but Le Pen" sentiment. France is facing a political divide that can be easily perceived through the geographical concentration of the votes. This divide is not the traditional right-left divide. It is about the image of France, the identity of the French people.

BEYOND ISLAMOPHOBIA  On January 07th, the world was shocked by the attack on the offices of the famous French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The attack which left 12 people dead saddened the world and the attack brought with it many debates. Undoubtedly the attack is a blow to freedom of the press and of expression. It will leave an enduring scar in the history of France as well as the world at large. The three perpetrators, two of whom were brothers were of Arab ethnic origin and spoke perfect French according to witnesses.

During his visit to Istanbul, Joseph Bahout was kind enough to share his views on Charlie Hebdo attack, the situation in Middle East, the foreign fighters and the refugee problem. Bahout is a visiting scholar in Carnegie’s Middle East Program, Washington, DC. He is a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Institut d´Etudes Politiques de Paris and served as a permanent consultant for the Policy Planning Unit at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs How can you explain the motives behind the attack to Charlie Hebdo? Charlie Hebdo attack is a very complex issue. From outside it is seen as a terrorist attack like any other one against Western target. It is important to keep in mind that France has this very radical way of separating religion from public sphere. France has intellectual tradition criticizing religion, making humor of some religious values. The second thing is that contrary to 9/11 or other attacks, it was not an outsider attack on a Western country. It was an attac...