President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, following their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 7, 2018.
Reuters/Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool
Gordon Adams, American University School of International Service
The US was once the dominant force in the Middle East. That old order has disappeared. Now the new powers are Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Russia – and the US needs a new policy for the region.
Qatar’s decision to aid Turkey in the face of American sanctions against the country may finally be a snub too far for its close relationship with the US.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
AP/Presidential Press Service pool photo
The financial crisis provoked by the lira’s fall isn’t the true drama in Turkey. The real drama is a democratic transformation threatens the increasingly authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
A woman in Venezuela shows off the new two and five bolivar soberano bills.
Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Venezuela recently devalued its bolivar by 95 percent to tame rabid hyperinflation that has been sending prices on everyday goods through the roof. If history is a guide, it won’t work.
US sanctions announced earlier this month may have triggered the plunge in the lira, but the government has been mismanaging Turkey’s economy for years, creating severe vulnerabilities.
The Turkish currency, the lira, has fallen by more than 40% against the US dollar.
AAP
In the 70s, Whitlam tried to build new, big cities. But this was too costly. Now the most viable solution for Australia’s population woes is to make existing cities bigger.
Students at a madrasa in the Assaba region of southern Mauritania in May 2014.
Michal Huniewicz
Madrasas, or Islam-centered schools, have long spread knowledge and literacy throughout the Muslim world. However, can they prepare students for today’s tech-based economies?
Supporters of Nationalist Movement Party at a rally before the June election.
REUTERS/Osman Orsal
Doga Ulas Eralp, American University School of International Service
Turkey’s close relationship with the US dates back to the Cold War. But after the June election there put nationalists into a position of power in the government, that alliance could turn rocky.
A man reads a newspaper the day after the presidential and parliamentary elections in Istanbul, June 25, 2018.
Aris Messinis/AFP
The Turkish election highlights the growing strength of Turkish opposition despite the defeat and approves of a president who could be weaker than he would like to appear.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has headed off a political humiliation, but making good on his extravagant promises won’t be easy.
Under a canopy of Turkish flags, supporters of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) attend an election rally in Gaziantep, eastern Turkey.
Presidency Press Service via AP, Pool
Turkey’s snap election is on Sunday. One fact is clear: The candidates and electorate are both nationalist and pious. That’s in contrast to the strict secularism of 20th century politics.
Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University