A New Approach to Europen Foreign and Security Policy

Can Europe create an effective common and implimentable foreign and security policy?

At the end of November 2011, EU decided to hold high level talks to review the situtation in Syria and decide on what Europe could do. The host of the meeting was France and its Foreign Minister Allen Juppe had recently visited Turkey and witnessed Turkey's importance for the implementation of any sanctions that could be adopted by EU towards that country ...

Seyfi TAŞHAN - 12/01/2011 MORE >>

Is it fair to expect the implementation of the Additional Protocol on Cyprus?

In 1974 Greek colonels made a wrong move in Cyprus and Turkey as a guarantor power had to intervene. In 1983 Turkey recognized the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. In 2004, when the Annan Plan was under discussion, the Turkish Cypriots in the referendum voted positively and the Greek Cypriots voted negatively. Still, the Greek Cypriots joined the European Union. The Turkish Cypriots were suffering from the isolations imposed upon them ...

Resat ARIM - 12/01/2011 MORE >>

"Turkey can only be a model as a secular state"

"We are both in the West and in this region. Turkey is a European State, we should not forget this. Because we are already settled in Europe and except the European Union, we are an active member in all the European institutions. Today, there are millions of Turks living in Europe. Under these conditions, there cannot be a shift in axis. A European country's axis cannot be shifted. Even thinking of Turkey as a Middle Eastern country is nonsense". ...

Seyfi Taşhan interviewed by ÖmerFaruk KAVUK (*)
(*) Published in Turkish in the periodical "VIP diplomat" 2011 No. 40 issue MORE >>

Interview on the final status of CYPRUS

In January the United Nations Security General has invited the leaders of two communities in Cyprus. One of the leader is so called president of Cyprus . The other one is the head of the Turkish Community. They are supposed to discuss the future of Cyprus on the basis equal footing and political equality. So I believe there is something essentially wrong to conduct negotiations on such a funny way ...

Seyfi TAŞHAN - Resat ARIM - 11/29/2011 MORE >>

The trigger-happy Israel is reprimanded by Turkey

On May 31 of last year a Turkish ship carrying  humanitarian aid to Gaza was attacked by Israeli warship in  international waters of the Mediterranean and nine Turkish passangers were killed. The crisis that ensued still continues today ...

Resat ARIM MORE >>

FPI organized Panel entitled "Human Rights in IR: Theory and Practice" at the 10 th METU Conference on International Relations "Rethinking International Relations: Theory and Practice"

Foreign Policy Institute with participation of some members of its Administrative Board has organized a panel on June 17 th, 2011 at the 10th METU Conference on International Relations entitled "Theory and Practice: Human Rights in International Relations." Prof. Ersin Onulduran moderated the panel where Seyfi Taşhan, Director of the Institute, discussed the practices within the Council of Europe context, as well as practices in the Islamic countries. Amb. (Rt.) Oktay Aksoy, Board Member, summerized the evolution of human rights within the United Nations system and Amb.(Rt.) Reşat Arım, Board Member, related the developments in the Americas, in Africa and in Asia ...

Human Rights in Europe - Seyfi TASHAN MORE >>

Human Rights and its Evolution within the United Nations Context - Oktay AKSOY MORE >>

Human Rights in the World - Resat ARIM MORE >>

Palestine Revisited
Is Obama's Speech a Major Policy Shift?

President Obama's speech asking Israel to accept 1967 borders with "give and take" in the West Bank has created repercussions in the world. Can President Obama make Israelis accept this proposal?

The op-ed analyzes various aspects of the issue ...

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Political Parties and Foreign Policy-2011 General Elections

For the 2011 general elections in Turkey 17 political parties are participating. In this article we will try in a Q&A form to look into the foreign policy declarations of the main political parties, namely Justice and Development Party (AKP), Republican People's Party (CHP) and National Action Party (MHP) by referring to the points of convergance and divergence in their approaches ...
Summarized by the research staff of the Foreign Policy Institute

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Latest Developments in the Arap World reviwed at the Foreign Policy Institute on March 30th,2011

Today we will discuss the situation in the Middle East, particularly the Arab world. We had never seen such a development in memory except some smaller uprisings which have been crushed in different parts of the Arab world, for example, in Syria the Hama uprising and in Egypt other uprisings. The Islamic uprising in Algeria was crushed with a lot of bloodshed. Now this time the rise-up covers almost all the Arab countries.

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