Insight Turkey
Insight Turkey
Challenging ideas
On Turkish politics and International affairs

Mapping the Genesis of the Abraham Accords Elite Preferences Rising

Mapping the Genesis of the Abraham Accords Elite Preferences, Rising Nationalism, and the Quest for Political Stability

Commentaries

The Abraham Accords have presented themselves as one of the most significant geopolitical developments in the Middle East in this decade. They...

The Muslim Brotherhood Faultline in Saudi-Qatari Relations Domestic Divisions and

The Muslim Brotherhood Faultline in Saudi-Qatari Relations: Domestic Divisions and Regional Rivalry

Commentaries

The commentary argues the Saudi-Qatari tensions lie in conflicting perspectives about the role of political Islam within the fabric of both states...

Editor's Note Fall 2021

Editor's Note | Fall 2021

Editor's Notes

With one more year coming to an end, we are pleased to present to our readers yet another insightful issue of Insight Turkey that has attempted to...

The Changing Contours of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman and

The Changing Contours of Saudi Arabia: Mohammed bin Salman and the Paradox of Saudi Reforms

Review Article

This review article aims to provide broader nuances about Saudi Arabia amid the rapid developments taking place in the Middle East in general and...

Demystifying Qatar s Pro-Revolution Monarchy Old Rivalries New Geopolitical Motives

Demystifying Qatar’s Pro-Revolution Monarchy: Old Rivalries, New Geopolitical Motives

Articles

Unlike other Arab monarchies, Qatar has embraced a supportive position toward the Arab revolutions since the moment they broke out in late 2010. In...

Editor's Note Winter 2021

Editor's Note | Winter 2021

Editor's Notes

While the importance of the region certainly is going to increase in the following years as more regional and global actors will be included in the...

The UAE s Disruptive Policy in Libya

The UAE’s Disruptive Policy in Libya

Articles

In the last decade, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as a leading counter-revolutionary force in the Middle East. Feeling the heat of...

The Protracted Civil War in Libya The Role of Outside

The Protracted Civil War in Libya: The Role of Outside Powers

Commentaries

The collapse of the Muammar Qaddafi regime was ostensibly the prelude to a democratic Libya. The 2012 election elicited much optimism. By 2014, the...

Islam Beyond Borders The Umma in World Politics

Islam Beyond Borders: The Umma in World Politics

Book Reviews

With different meanings attached and without an overarching formal institution, the umma has nevertheless maintained strong symbolic, normative and...

The Persian Gulf Dilemma United in the West Divided in

The Persian Gulf Dilemma: United in the West, Divided in the Gulf

Review Article

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Western influence in the Persian Gulf has continued to expand; this process has also exposed several...

Editor's Note Winter 2020

Editor's Note | Winter 2020

Editor's Notes

Through a wide range of commentaries and articles, this issue of Insight Turkey aims to bring to its readers a comprehensive framework on the...

Chasing the Dream The Salman Doctrine and Saudi Arabia s

Chasing the Dream: The Salman Doctrine and Saudi Arabia’s Bid for Regional Dominance

Commentaries

Saudi Arabia’s massive air campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen initiated a major shift from the Kingdom’s traditional policy of restraint,...

What Is the Sharia

What Is the Sharia?

Book Reviews

Relevant to contemporary times when Sharia, generally referred to as Islamic law, has been associated with numerous negative connotations –ranging...

Deconstructing the Gulf Crisis Post-Colonialism and Competing Projects in the

Deconstructing the Gulf Crisis: Post-Colonialism and Competing ‘Projects’ in the Middle East

Articles

This article deconstructs the stated reasons behind the quartet’s blockade on Qatar, including i) Iranian-relations; ii) funding ‘terror;’ iii)...

UK Strategy in the Gulf and Middle East after American

UK Strategy in the Gulf and Middle East after American Retrenchment

Articles

This paper considers the impact of the possible relative decline of the U.S. and its engagement in the Middle East and the Gulf in particular. U.S....

The Nature of the Libyan Crisis and Forthcoming Election

The Nature of the Libyan Crisis and Forthcoming Election

Commentaries

Libya, which ended the 42-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, has been dragged into another crisis. This study addresses the situation, by taking...

Military Bases in the Foreign Policy of the United Arab

Military Bases in the Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates

Articles

The United Arab Emirates is one of the leading countries in the Middle East in terms of active foreign policy. One of the most striking instruments...

Quo Vadis Turkey-GCC States Relations A Turkish Perspective

Quo Vadis Turkey-GCC States Relations? A Turkish Perspective

Articles

With the growing need for more cooperative relations in the face of Iran’s assertive foreign policy following Saddam’s fall, Turkey’s importance as...

It s a Family Affair Religion Geopolitics and the Rise

It’s a Family Affair: Religion, Geopolitics and the Rise of Mohammed bin Salman

Commentaries

Over the past year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has experienced a period of rapid transformation under the direction of a new Crown Prince,...

The Gulf Crisis The U S Factor

The Gulf Crisis: The U.S. Factor

Commentaries

The election of the U.S. President Donald Trump played a key role in reigniting the Gulf crisis. The blockading quartet (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain...

The Regional Geo-sectarian Contest over the Gulf

The Regional Geo-sectarian Contest over the Gulf

Commentaries

Sectarianism in the Middle East has intensified since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the outbreak of the Arab Spring, and has transformed into...

Lessons and Legacies of the Blockade of Qatar

Lessons and Legacies of the Blockade of Qatar

Commentaries

The diplomatic and economic blockade of Qatar launched on June 5, 2017 has gravely weakened the Gulf Cooperation Council and raised questions in...

Editor's Note Spring 2018

Editor's Note | Spring 2018

Editor's Notes

The Gulf is a sub-region consisting of Saudi Arabia and five small states, namely Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. This...

Traditional Rivalry or Regional Design in the Middle East

Traditional Rivalry or Regional Design in the Middle East?

Articles

The repercussions of the Arab Spring and new polarization between Iran, Israel and the Gulf States means the Middle East faces multiple rivalries...

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