Gathering Migrants at Turkey-Greece Border Indicative of Larger International Problems

While the COVID-19 continues to disrupt the world in the form of travel bans, quarantined cities, and plummeting stock markets, another less recognized crisis is underway in Europe. On February 27th, thirty-three Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike in Idlib in north-western Syria.[1] The Russian backed Assad regime justified their attack by stating that … Read more

Time to Rethink the Continuing State of Emergency in Turkey

After a failed military coup in Turkey on July 15, 2016, the Turkish government decided to declare a state of emergency to take required measures in the fight against the putschists, and return to normalcy as soon as possible. Considering the extension of the state of emergency to six months, and all measures taken in … Read more

EU-Turkey Agreement: What’s the Deal?

On March 8, 2016, the European Union (EU) and Turkey reached an agreement aimed at resolving the migrant crisis, which has grown exponentially over the past several years. Since the beginning of the conflict, a total of 9 million migrants, have fled war-torn areas such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In search of safety, most … Read more

Critical Analysis: Turmoil in Turkish Politics Could Tip Syrian War

The Turkish government under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains in its worst political crisis since coming to power in 2003. On April 3, access to Twitter in the country was restored after the Constitutional Court ruled that a ban imposed by Erdogan on March 21 was illegal. The prime minister had announced he would … Read more

Critical Analysis: Turkey’s Failed Ban On Twitter

On March 20, 2014, Turkey blocked its citizens from the social media website, Twitter. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the main culprit for this act. During a campaign rally, he stated “Now there is a court order. Twitter, mwitter, we will eradicate it all.” His purported reason behind the block: privacy concerns. Prime … Read more

Critical Analysis: Syrian Passenger Plane Forced Down by Turkey

Turkish fighter jets forced a Syrian passenger plane to land in Ankara, the Turkish capital, on October 10.  The plane was suspected of carrying weapons from Russia.  The airliner was traveling from Moscow to Damascus with only thirty-five passengers and two crew members, even though the plane’s maximum capacity is one hundred eighty passengers.  Turkish … Read more

International Water Law and the Euphrates Conundrum

Most conversations about Syria and Turkey currently revolve around the Syrian uprising, the regime’s repression of it, and a certain Turkish warplane shot down recently near the Syrian-Turkish border. However, a pre-existing, lower-level dispute between the two countries regarding the waters of the Euphrates river existed long before the uprising began, and will certainly continue … Read more

Critical Analysis: Tensions Continue After Syrians Down Turkish Warplane

Following the warplane incident on June 22, when Syrian forces shot down a Turkish warplane, Turkish and Syrian relations have become further stressed by additional military response. Yesterday, Turkey responded by scrambling six fighter jets near the Syrian-Turkish border. Turkish officials claim this is a response, not only to the June 22 incident, but three … Read more

Critical Analysis: Syria Downs Turkish Warplane

On June 22nd, Syrian armed forces shot down a Turkish F-4 Phantom Warplane, which burst into flames and crashed into Syrian territorial waters.  Syrian authorities assert that the aircraft entered its airspace at low altitude and high speed, and that its defense forces acted legally in taking it down. “There was no hostile act against … Read more