The Justice and Development (AKP) Party, which has its roots in political Islam, was returned to office after it won a landslide victory in early elections called to resolve a crisis with the powerful military, backed by the secular establishment, over who should be the country’s next President.
Lebanon is faced with an internal political deadlock and the threat of being overwhelmed by salafi groups bent on destabilising it. The basic domestic political issues at this point are: the formation of a new national unity government, the election of a new President (the mandate of the current President Emile Lahoud expires this autumn), the creation of a new tribunal to investigate the killing of former Prime Minister Rafiq al Hariri and his escort, and the rising threat of al-Qaeda-inspired salafi groups such as Fatah al-Islam.
Divergent policies and threat perceptions in the US and the EU concerning the Muslim world, as well as differences in strategic culture and historical experience, make transatlantic cooperation less relevant than is required by current challenges.
Since the 1990s, the Turkish military have emerged as a force defending Turkey’s secular democracy in the political realm. How will they react towards the upsurge in Islamic influence and the other issues facing the country?
The expulsion of the Taliban from Afghanistan and the neo-con fiasco in Iraq have strengthened the role of the Shias and of Iran in the Middle East. Will a new regional war be avoided?
A keynote speech by Mosiuoa Lekota, Minister of Defence of South Africa, delivered at Elcano Royal Institute on 19 April 2007.
The nomination of the Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gül, of the ruling moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), as a candidate for the Presidency has led to a political crisis in Turkey.
The nomination of the Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gül, of the ruling moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), as a candidate for the Presidency has led to a political crisis in Turkey.
Saddam Hussein’s Iraq posed a threat to peace and security in the Middle East. Now in the throes of a process of decomposition, the country could become a source of new and even more serious threats for the region and for the international system.
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