Lehigh University / Wilson Center
Henri Barkey is Bernard L. and Bertha F. Cohen Professor in the Department of International Relations at Lehigh University and Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Berlin, Ankara and the international political consequences When a lone gunman assassinated Russia's ambassador to Turkey in a shocking public display at an Ankara photo exhibit yesterday, the international consequences were immediate. Hours later a tractor trailer truck mowed down holiday revelers celebrating at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and wounding scores more. Germany has been preparing for terror attacks like the ones that have struck in Paris and Belgium. While authorities are treating these isolated incidents as the work of terrorists, motives and details are still very unclear. One thing is certain: the perception of escalating violence could have far-reaching effects on Europe's policy on immigration, refugees and the war in Syria.
The uneasy alliance between Turkey and the US Turkey is a NATO partner and a key American ally in the Middle East. At one point President Obama even saw President Erdogan as a role model for Muslim leaders. Not anymore. Washington's been watching nervously as Erdogan has turned increasingly autocratic. Anti-American sentiment in Turkey has snowballed in the wake of last month's failed coup, which many Turks blame on an exiled Muslim cleric living in the US. Vice President Biden was in Ankara yesterday to smooth over strained relations, but can the growing rifts be healed given these two nations' clashing alliances in the fight against ISIS?
Is Turkey the Next Dictatorship? Turkey is both the historic "crossroads of Europe and Asia" and a powerful presence in the Middle East. As recently as 2009, President Obama visited Turkey and praised Tayyip Erdogan for curbing the military and showing that Islam can coexist with democracy. Since then, the Prime Minister has brutalized protesters, banned Twitter and YouTube, and jailed scores of reporters. This weekend, after his party won local elections around the country, he promised criminal action against his opponents and said, "There will be those who have to flee." Will he try to prolong his rule? What's at stake for Syria, Iran, Israel and the European Union? Is it time for the US to start paying attention?
Violence and the Politics of Religion in the Middle East Two years of bloody violence against a brutal dictatorship in Syria have awakened the ancient rivalry between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. It's become a religious battle, pitting neighbors against each other in Syria and across the Middle East, and is accentuating hostilities between nations, including Saudi Arabia and Iran. Terrorist organizations, like Shiite Hezbollah and Sunni al Qaeda, are threatening chaos to advance their competing agendas. Is it partly an unintended consequence of America's occupation of Iraq? Is there anything the US can do to contain it?
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.