Recent Posts

The Costs of a Presidential System: The Impact of Hyper-centralization on Turkey’s Educational and Cultural Affairs

Key takeaways Turkey’s transition to a hyper-centralized presidential system has given rise to a growing malaise in the educational and cultural fields, manifested through purges, witch hunts, and the erosion of university autonomy and resulting in an exodus of the creative classes and cultural institutions. Academic and cultural impoverishment not …

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Iran protests: how far can they go?

On an early autumn day in Tehran, the morality police arrested in a city park a 22-year-old Iranian woman who was in the capital on a family visit, bundled her into a van and drove her to the police station. The detention of Mahsa Amini on September 13 set in …

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In a War Over Global Order, Russia Bombs Ukraine Cities

Ukrainians face new crimes and a punishing winter in their defense against dictators’ wars. Over the past 48 hours, Russia again escalated its rain of explosives on Ukrainian cities and civilians. As Ukraine’s soldiers drive back Russia’s invasion forces, Vladimir Putin is trying instead to bludgeon millions of Ukrainians into …

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