Middle East and North Africa

Human Security Centre (HSC) Senior Fellow Simon Schofield has had a comment piece examining the latest developments in Turkish foreign policy published in CapX. In the article, he outlines how Ankara's interventions in Iraq, Syria and Libya, fostering of jihadists and colluding with powers such as Iran have left relations between Turkey and the West at a critical juncture.

The world of football is often less about the game on the field and much more about anything that happens around it. Governments exploit the sport for propaganda, investors for reputation improvement, and sports officials for personal gain.

Although it is not entirely clear if Mustafa al-Kadhimi will be able to form a cabinet within the 30-day timeline, one thing he does have is support amongst most parliamentary factions.

Disagreements between Russia and Turkey have again led to an intensified war in Syria, which forces the European Union to act and not only fulfil its moral obligations, but also find sustainable solutions for its member states and the community as a whole.

With the Russian-backed Syrian regime effectively winning the war against the opposition and Russia now calling the shots between Turkey and the SDF, it is fair to say that Putin is emerging as the metaphorical Tsar of Syria.

Despite ethno-sectarian differences and a confessional system still being present in Iraq, there appears to be a trend of increasingly foreign policy-based fissures in the country – something which is only likely to further complicate the Iraq’s future.

The agreement that has now been reached should avert a deployment of the Turkish military for the time being. But the statement is so vaguely worded that the agreement could be overturned by one side or the other at any time.

With Turkey going against US and western policy in Syria, alongside continuing to pivot towards Russia, it may be time to punish them and kick them out of NATO.

While the US is focussed on pushing back Iran, it does not want to carry the costs of such a mission all by itself.

Mohammed Bin Salman is demonstrating Saudi Arabia’s intention to create a strategic counterweight to its ties with western partners.