Turkey’s Ambitions in Africa

Posted by & filed under Humanitarianism

Turkish PM visits Somali camp. Photo: Worldbulletin.net

 

In August 2011 Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan took his family, his foreign minister, and an entourage of cabinet members to visit Somalia as part of a humanitarian mission to highlight the plight of 12 million Somali victims of drought. The visit was symbolically important, as Erdoğan travelled to Mogadishu, the first visit to the Somali capital by a leader from outside Africa in 20 years. Also symbolic was the timing, coming as it did during the holy month of Ramadan in which Turkey alone raised 201 million USD in humanitarian relief. The magnitude of the Somali tragedy – with the UN reporting that 3.2 million people at risk – deserves significant international attention, but even so, one can wonder what is behind the Turkish fervor to engage with Africa?Read More

How do we Maximise the Cyprus Peace Dividend?

Posted by & filed under Regions and Powers

Kypros

A solution to the longstanding Cyprus problem could raise per capita incomes by approximately EUR 12,000, expand the size of the economy by around EUR 20 bln and add on average 2.8 percentage points to real GDP growth every year for 20 years. However, it would be naïve to suggest that such growth rates are guaranteed. Important preparatory work needs to be done to ensure that these growth rates are possible.

Read more in Fiona Mullen’s op ed in Financial Mirror, published 4 June 2014.

 

This week in South Sudan – Week 22

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Monday 26 May South Sudan army denied involvement in assaults on UN staff. The Russian President, Putin, was invited to visit South Sudan. Tuesday 27 May UNHCR announced that more than 70,000 people have fled their homes since the peace agreement was signed 9 May. UNMISS’ mandate was extended and the focus shifted from nation building to protection of… Read more »

The price of fast-track peace-making: Considering May 2014

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May 2014 appears to be a momentous month for South Sudanese politics. The government signed two peace agreements on 9th May in Addis Ababa, and the South Sudan Humanitarian Conference took place on 19-20th May in Oslo. Mobilising over USD610, the Oslo conference was a response to the crisis induced by the continuing conflict in South Sudan. Although presented… Read more »

Thailand’s Fragile Democracy

Posted by & filed under Regions and Powers

Thai military at Chang Phueak Gate in Chiang Mai. Photo (c) Takeaway/ Wikimedia Commons, used under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The traditional elite clings to an outdated world view. But a military coup offers no solution.

​Two days after the military coup in Thailand at least 13 bombs exploded, approximately simultaneously, in the city of Pattani. Three people, including a five-year-old child, were killed, and approximately 60 people injured. On Sunday there were clashes between anti-coup demonstrators and soldiers in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. A symptomatic feature of Thailand’s enduring power struggle is a failure to address the country’s underlying political conflicts. With last week’s military coup, the Thai army has once again put the country in a precarious position. Thailand, which most Norwegians know as a peaceful and beautiful holiday paradise, is in a state of extreme political tension that carries a significant risk of long-lasting violent conflict.Read More

This Week in South Sudan – Week 21

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Monday 19 May UNICEF called for financial aid to stop outbreak of cholera in South Sudan. South Sudan government defended involvement of foreign troops in South Sudan. SPLM/A-in-Opposition accused the South Sudan government of raping women in Upper Nile. An international Donor Conference for South Sudan opened in Oslo. Tuesday 20 May Khartoum stated that… Read more »

The Soma Mining Disaster: A Tragedy Foretold

Posted by & filed under Regions and Powers

As the rescue operation into Turkey´s worst industrial accident came to end on Saturday, 17 May, the number of dead was confirmed at 301 (of 787) with scores still unaccounted for. PRIO researcher Pinar Tank has published a post the New Middle East Blog 23 May 2014.

Miners in Soma, waiting for news from the mines. Photo: Wikipedia

Democracy, Democratization, and Political Violence

Posted by & filed under Governance

The process of democratization is often violent in the short run, and democratic governments are more constrained in their use of force against insurgents than non-democratic authorities. But are democracies really more prone to political violence than other political systems? This is the theme of a short article published at the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) at ETH Zürich.Read More

Business and Peace

Posted by and & filed under Business and Peace, Regions and Powers

These days, the Business for Peace Symposium is happening in Oslo. Business leaders from all over the world are gathered to discuss how business can contribute to peace and hinder conflict. Some of the most distinguished guests have arrived from Cyprus, namely Manthos Mavrommatis, Honorary President of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Vargin Varer, Vice President of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce.Read More

Edward Snowden: the last Big Brother?

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openclipart/user unknown. Public domain.

Following last year’s revelations, Edward Snowden seems to be trapped in a role ironically reminiscent of another famous character – George Orwell’s Big Brother.

You are being watched. This classical surveillance slogan hides a subtler, and more insidious message: you must believe you are always being watched, and you probably are, but you will never be certain of that, or get the full picture of how. That is the logic behind the motto. And on this logic relies the functioning of surveillance’s ghostly dynamics: a logic of uncertainty and fear….

Read more in the original article that was published 13 May 2014 at Open Democracy.