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Three tasks for G20
In three weeks, the leaders of the world’s most “systemically important” countries are due to meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the 15th summit of the G20. It used to be…
Saudi ban shows importance of rules-based trade
Turkey still does not have an ambassador in Tel Aviv, our president campaigns against Israel whenever he gets the chance, and conditions under the COVID-19 pandemic are…
A Schuman Plan for Cyprus
Turkish Cyprus is due to hold the second round of its presidential elections on Sunday. The tragedy of the situation is that the outcome of the election probably won’t…
Turkey is aging at an inopportune time
“A pessimist sees the difficulty at every opportunity, the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” said Churchill. I consider myself a born again optimist,…
Turkey is diversifying its energy imports
In a secret meeting in 1942, then U.K Prime Minister Winston Churchill said, “The challenge of working with allies is that sometimes they develop opinions of their own…
Signatories of Abraham Accords should take a hard look at Cyprus
When I first heard about the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE, I reminisced Amin Malouf’s book “The Crusades Through Arab Eyes,” where he writes that…
Turkey is getting older
We live in the age of multiple global challenges. Global warming and pandemics are obviously interrelated problems that require a global response, but there is a less…
The tiger and the virus
Ten years ago, everyone in Turkey was talking about tigers – Anatolian tigers. These up and coming cities in the dry climate of inner Anatolia were the homes of dynamic…
Inflation measurement in the age of COVID-19
On the sudden stop in global economic activity this year, Fed Chair Jay Powell said in May 2020 that “the virus is the cause, not the usual suspects.” That started the…
Waiting for the virus
Constantine P. Cavafy’s poem “Waiting for the Barbarians” is a delightful read in dark times. It’s about a day in an unnamed city-state, where life comes to a halt as…
Turkey is still normalizing
Looking at Turkey from abroad these days, one might be interested in various data points. The exchange rate, the interest rate and the various up-and-down ticks of the…
A tale of three blasts
I still recommend taking the long view on Turkey. Yes, there is cause for serious concern, but Turkey remains a great country in a very troubled region. In this troubled…