Politics

IS and the lessons learnt

Negotiating beyond time and space

The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, is a recruitment tool for the IS and has to go. Nevertheless, a successor government needs to be able to keep order and cannot allow the jihadists to exploit a power vacuum, as it has in Libya. An essay by Richard N. Haass
By Richard N. Haass
After the Paris attacks

The emotional helplessness of Muslims

In the wake of the Paris attacks, there is a growing sense of resentment and exhaustion within Muslims communities in Europe at having to repeatedly distance themselves from terror under the guise of Islam. An essay by the blogger Busra Delikaya
By Büşra Delikaya
Interview with the Islam expert Olivier Roy

European Islam: destined to be ignored

The links between Europe and the Maghreb are stronger than many would like to believe. Politicians on both sides of the Mediterranean, in particular, are ignoring the emergence of a specifically European brand of Islam, says the French political scientist and Islamic studies expert Olivier Roy. The interview was conducted by Federica Zoja
By Federica Zoja
Tunisia's union leader Houcine Abbassi

The intermediary

Houcine Abbassi has headed the Tunisian Labour Union Confederation UGTT since late 2011. Along with workers' rights, he primarily pleads for political dialogue in his home country. The National Dialogue Quartet he initiated for this purpose has now been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. By Sarah Mersch
By Sarah Mersch
IS terror in Europe

Crossing a psychological line

Following the devastating attacks on Paris, French terrorism experts believe that the jihadists′ awareness must have undergone a radical change to enable them to operate in Paris just as they do in Syria or Iraq. Has "Islamic State" altered its strategy? Analysis by Birgit Kaspar
By Birgit Kaspar
Paris terrorist attacks

A terrible case of deja-vu

Following the January attack on "Charlie Hebdo," Paris has become the target of terrorist attacks for the second time this year. The cold-bloodedness of the assailants has shocked the French. One day later, Barbara Wesel reports from the French capital with her impressions
By Barbara Wesel
Chronicle of a war foretold

Redefining the "Syrian" conflict

The war waging in Syria, hijacked by opposing ideologies just months after it began, has had an irrevocable impact on the Syrian people. Although not much is heard of Syrians outside the refugee camps, Americans, Europeans, Russians, Turks, Iranians, and Arabs hold meeting after meeting to agree and disagree, coalesce and collide, in an attempt to halt the ″Syrian conflict″. By Hakim Khatib
By Hakim Khatib
Turkish general election

Erdogan′s second chance

Can Recep Tayyip Erdogan distance himself from the paternalistic style of government he has favoured in the past? Having been granted a considerable mandate by the Turkish population at the beginning of November, those in the AKP administration can surely afford to take a more benign approach to minority groups and those advocating peaceful dissent. By Sinan Ulgen
By Sinan Ulgen
Interview with the Israeli historian Tom Segev

″United Jerusalem is a myth″

In interview with Inge Günther, the prominent Israeli historian and journalist Tom Segev talks about life in the city where peace is impossible
By Inge Günther
Israel in the media

Fighting the empty phrase

In Germany, public statements about Israel often lack quality. The quality of media discourse comes from knowledge and precise observation, but also from controversy and a diversity of voices. When it comes to Israel, something else sets the tone: the empty phrase
By Charlotte Wiedemann
Turkey′s general election

Peace a top priority

In elections in June, the AK Party lost its absolute majority in the Turkish parliament – and President Erdogan lost his grip on unrestrained power. His critics consider him one of the fomenters of the violent chaos now plaguing the country. By Timur Tinc
By Timur Tinç
Turkey's general election

Overshadowed by violence and political polarisation

Turkey is heading to a general election on 1 November in the aftermath of the country′s worst terror attack, renewed fighting with Kurdish rebels and with a society increasingly polarised. The snap election comes after the inconclusive June poll that ended the AKP Party′s 13-year parliamentary majority. But, as Dorian Jones writes from Istanbul, the country may be forced into entering a new era of political compromise
By Dorian Jones