By Julian Fischer-Lhamon Turkey is in a precarious, though strategic, position between East and West. This also holds true for conflict between Israel and the Arab world. Nominally, Turkey’s leader, Erdoğan, is resolutely in favor of the Palestinian cause. However, his words do not align with his actions. As the East-West rivalry intensifies, Turkey’s balancing... Continue Reading →
By Julian Fischer-Lhamon The Turkic peoples have long been separated politically as well as geographically by Russia, Persia, and the Caspian Sea. In spite of, or rather because of, this separation, a great sense of Turkic identity has spread and survived over the centuries between Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia. Although Turkish nationalists have dreamed... Continue Reading →
By Julian Fischer-Lhamon After fourteen years, a German Chancellor has finally visited Kazakhstan again. Olaf Scholz’s visit was highly anticipated, with groundwork being laid already last year with a visit by Germany’s foreign minister and president. Scholz met with not only Kazakhstan's president, Tokayev, but also leaders of the other central Asian countries. Despite other... Continue Reading →
By Julian Fischer-Lhamon Historically, tensions between Turkey and Russia have remained tense over the centuries. Their shared interest in the Black Sea, the Crimea, and Russia’s desire for unrestricted access to the Mediterranean have led to them facing off against each other in the Crimean War, the First World War, and very nearly again in... Continue Reading →
BRICS recently expanded to allow for the integration of six new members into the group. Pakistan has also submitted a formal request to join the group, though this request is made complicated by Pakistan's history and relations with India.
The Organization of Turkic States recently met for their 10th Summit. It is a group that works to advance trade and economic cooperation between member states and serves as a forum to discuss domestic and international issues.
Pakistan announced in early October that all illegal migrants would need to leave the country by November 1st or risk deportation. This policy targeted the 1.73 million Afghan refugees that fled to Pakistan following the rise of the Taliban. Many of these refugees could face persecution upon return to Afghanistan.
Russian President Putin recently made a visit to Kyrgyzstan, where he met with Kyrgyz President Japarov. The meeting addressed security and economic cooperation between the two countries. Though the Kyrgyz president praised the relationship, his administration's actions have demonstrated a resistance to assisting the Russian state.
The mystery surrounding a wave of deadly protests that engulfed Kazakhstan in January 2022, known as ‘Bloody January’, is slowly unraveling. With around 238 dead, what caused the protests was a subject of debate for some time. At the time, officials tried to frame the revolt as an intricate plot involving foreign-trained terrorists and bandits. However, few outside of Kazakhstan bought into such a poor explanation. Another interpretation is that former President Nazarbayev and his relatives were attempting to undermine and even unseat Nazarbayev’s replacement Tokayev. This understanding of events just received further validation after the recent arrest of Samat Abish, former deputy head of Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee, and Nazarbayev’s nephew.
The Taliban welcomed China’s new ambassador to Afghanistan with all the pomp and circumstance they could muster last Wednesday. The lavish ceremony was held at the presidential palace where the Taliban’s Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund shook hands with Zhao Sheng before accepting his credentials. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs played down the meeting claiming, “this is the normal rotation of China's ambassador to Afghanistan and is intended to continue advancing dialogue and cooperation between China and Afghanistan.”
The Patterson Journal of International Affairs 