On Friday, I recorded a Bloggingheads segment with Turkish journalist Mustafa Akyol, in which we discussed some of the different dimensions of Turkish politics and foreign policy.
We also discussed what the Turkish democratic experiment could mean for a liberalized Islam, specifically in regard to differing conceptions of secularism. In many Muslim countries, secularism has long been seen in mainly negative terms, understood essentially as government hostility to religion. Akyol suggests that Turkey under Erdogan is helping to change that, and I in turn suggest that the American experience with religion and politics offers a possible model.
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- 12/02/11
- Discussion With Tunisia’s Rachid Ghannouchi —
- 12/02/11
- Debating Military Action Against Iran —
- 12/02/11
- Terms Of Disengagement —
Setting the Record Straight
Determined to Reach a Common Objective
“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010Middle East Analysis
- Don’t Panic. Yet —Issandr El Amrani (The Arabist)
- The Islamists vs. The Markets: Egypt’s Election Analyzed —Haroon Moghul (Religion Dispatches)
- What the Libya Intervention Achieved —Marc Lynch (Foreign Policy)
Upcoming Events
The U.S. Agency for International Development and Conflict: Hard Lessons from the Field
May 17, 2011, 12:00pm – 1:15pm
From Afghanistan and Iraq to Pakistan, Somalia, and South Sudan, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is engaged daily in trying to help some of the most troubled nations on the planet make a lasting transition to stability, open markets, and democracy. Few areas of the agency’s work are more challenging or more controversial.
Join us for remarks by, and a roundtable with, the deputy administrator of USAID, Ambassador