Silent Lonesome Man

When Israeli military and Palestinian militants clashed over the decision by the Israeli court to evict six Arab families from Jerusalem, little expected it would escalate into a full-blown conflict, with Israeli military now tries to flatten entire Gaza strip in accusation of the Hamas militants firing rockets to the country. Usually, Israel's actions would always receive condemnations from the majority of Muslim world. This time, no exception. But one country, once being Israel's strongest ally in the Islamic world, has now instead only expressed reservation. This was Azerbaijan, the Caucasus Shiite Muslim nation bordering Russia and Iran. The country's strange silence is abnormal because, in the past, Azerbaijan played an even more active role: it mediated between Israel and the Muslim nations; being one of only a few Muslim-majority states to not condemn Israel. So what happened? Israel and Azerbaijan have a unique relationship that made Azerbaijan the best Muslim ally ...

The United States officially recognised the Armenian Genocide in 2019, when Congress issued state recognition of the mass atrocities against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in World War I. The effort was rebuffed by then-President Donald Trump, who has a harmonious relationship with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but when Trump lost in the 2020 election, Joe Biden officially broke out from the predecessors and finally stated the same on April 24, 2021. Armenians are certainly happy, while Turkish and Azerbaijani nationalists are definitely dissatisfied with what they just saw. Unfortunately for the United States, the recognition could be a reckless move, since the recognition may have also unravelled how the alliance between the West to Turkey is moving spiral backwards. And this can be even more menacing for Washington D.C. because their recognition of the genocide might leave Turkey to project its ambitions independently and clashing with even NATO, EU and in general Western world, leave alon...

Ever since the Euromaidan and tensions increased between Ukraine and Russia, Kyiv has sought to become a prominent player within Europe, by trying to join NATO and EU. But while France and Germany have become more reluctant to accept Ukraine into the EU, due to the unwanted Brexit that saw the United Kingdom left the group, joining NATO maybe even more problematic because NATO also has members who share veto powers. One of them is Turkey, as Kyiv has been seeking to cultivate a friendlier alliance. Now, with U.S. President Joe Biden going to address the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, this can become a problem for Kyiv. Pro-Turkish and anti-Armenian views Ukraine has been at the spotlight when the Euromaidan when Ukrainians joined the protest demanding the pro-Russian President, Viktor Yanukovych, to leave power. The Maidan lasted for a year before it successfully toppled the President, forcing him to flee to Russia. The first death in the Maidan was a Ukrainian national of Armen...

On 19 April 2005, in the capital city of Poland, Warsaw, the Polish Sejm (Lower House), officially passed a solution. This solution was abnormal because it laid a historic and important ground for not just Poland's political stance, but also it greatly affected Poland's relations with another country that historically been one of Poland's biggest protectors. Yes, on that night, a cool night in the Polish capital, the Polish Sejm Marshal, Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, issued an official recognition. And this, by the moment, Turkey started to change. This move by the Polish government triggered widespread nationwide criticism in Turkey. And more. On 19 April 2005, Poland officially became the 17th country, to recognise the Armenian Genocide. And this is also when Turkey will never be the same again. A complicated tie Turkey and Poland have unique relations with each other. In the past, the Ottoman Empire clashed frequently with the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania. The Polish-...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Back in 2003, Turkey welcomed a new Prime Minister, the former mayor of Istanbul. His name was Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Just 49 years old at the time, he belonged to his newfound AKP (Justice and Development  Party, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi). He governed a relatively secular, modern, industrialised Turkey, and by the end of 2000s, Turkey appeared to be on the right track, as usual. And Erdogan didn't have any intentions to stay long in power since there was "nothing to do". Then, the Arab Spring broke out. It changed the political landscape across the Middle East. In response, Erdogan started to unveil his inner self, slowly weakening opposition groups and placing figures loyal to the party and his family members in charge of Turkey. But this didn't sit well with most of Turkish population, who were enraged by Erdogan's political reforms that trying to undermine the secular and already modern Turkey. Erdogan responded by forc...