John Bolton: To Defeat ISIS, Create a Sunni State

Today’s reality is that Iraq and Syria as we have known them are gone. The Islamic State has carved out a new entity from the post-Ottoman Empire settlement, mobilizing Sunni opposition to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and the Iran-dominated government of Iraq. Also emerging, after years of effort, is a de facto independent Kurdistan.

If, in this context, defeating the Islamic State means restoring to power Mr. Assad in Syria and Iran’s puppets in Iraq, that outcome is neither feasible nor desirable. Rather than striving to recreate the post-World War I map, Washington should recognize the new geopolitics. The best alternative to the Islamic State in northeastern Syria and western Iraq is a new, independent Sunni state.

NYT

Sakip Sabanci International Research Award

Submit your paper for the 2012 Awards, on the theme of Performance of the Turkish Economy during Global Crises. Prizes:    :]  $20,000 for the first prize, $10,000 for the second; $5,000 for the third. Deadline: March 31st, 2012. All entries must be new and original works, not published previously in any form. Essays must be approximately 13.000 words, including title, citations, and endnotes. (References should be shown in the form of endnotes.) An abstract of 500 words embedded to the original essay and a short c.v. of the applicant are required. Entries must be submitted in English, in the form of an attached Word document to this address.

Changing Geopolitics of the Caspian Region?

After the last Middle East Symposium, Global Politics editors have decided to shift their attention to other very interesting region – Caspian Sea. According to many IR scholars, world is now experiencing the power shift from the West to so called „emerging powers“, which is accompanied by various geopolitical turmoils. But is this also the case of Caspian region? If so, could this change bring some fresh air to local frozen conflicts? These questions were answered by various regional experts with diverse backgrounds and professional experiences, but profound understanding of Caspian affairs.

It is our great pleasure to publish the answers of Thomas de Waal (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, senior associate), Emil Souleimanov (Charles University, Prague, assistant professor), Anar Valiyev (Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, Baku, assistant professor, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs), Leila Alieva (Centre for National and International Studies, Baku, president), Joshua Kucera (freelance journalist, analyst, Washington DC) and Tomáš Šmíd (Masaryk University, Brno, assistant professor).

See the Global Politics journal.

Map by US Department of Energy.

Turecko: novináři za mřížemi

Web EurActiv.cz přetiskl článek od Petra Přibyly z květnového Bulletinu Centra pro lidská práva:

Zpráva OBSE z května 2011 kritizuje tureckou vládu za věznění sedmapadesáti novinářů a obvinění dalších jedenácti. Neoficiální odhady nicméně hovoří o sedmi stech až tisíci dalších probíhajících procesech. Turecko se tímto počtem zařadilo na úroveň Íránu a Číny v množství zadržovaných novinářů.