Inaugural Suna Roundtable Discussion – The Middle East on Rise: Turkey and the EU

Inaugural Suna Roundtable Discussion – The Middle East on Rise: Turkey and the EU

On October 25, 2012, Dr. Sylvia Tiryaki
participated in the Inaugural Suna Roundtable Discussion
entitled “The Middle East on Rise: Turkey and the EU” in Bratislava,
organized by GPoT Center in collaboration with the Faculty of Social and
Economic
Sciences (FSES) of Comenius University in Slovakia. This was the first
one in a series of roundtable discussions that will
be held annually in Bratislava to commemorate H.E. Suna Çokgür Ilıcak,
who passed away while serving as the Ambassador of the Republic of
Turkey to Slovak Republic in 2006.

Dr. Tiryaki discussed Turkey’s role in the Middle East and EU-Turkey
relations with the representatives of diplomatic corps based in
Bratislava, academics, experts and students who attended the event, and
participated in a ceremony during which a birch tree in the memory of
H.E. Suna Çokgür Ilıcak was jointly planted in the garden of FSES.

Gender Institute Consultation Meeting

Gender Institute Consultation Meeting

Sylvia Tiryaki together with Mensur Akgun and other international civil society activists attended the Gender Institute Consultation Meeting which took place in Abu Dhabi on October 13, 2010. The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates.

Hledání Cest k Míru v Sýrii | Sylvia Tiryaki

Hledání Cest k Míru v Sýrii | Sylvia Tiryaki

“Podle posledních statistik přesáhl počet obětí, které syrský konflikt doposud zapříčinil, výrazně sedmdesát tisíc. Toto číslo spolu s počtem utečenců, kterých je v Turecku, Jordánsku a Libanonu okolo 750 tisíc představuje dostatečný důvod pro nazvání situace v Sýrii pojmem “humanitární katastrofa”.”
 
Originál článku je prístupný v plnom znení na blogu IHNED.cz.

Mediation in the Mediterranean: Developing Capacities and Synergies

Mediation in the Mediterranean: Developing Capacities and Synergies

Dr. Sylvia Tiryaki, Deputy Director at GPoT Center, attended the first of two seminars as part of the United Nations Group of Friends of Mediation Spanish-Moroccan Initiative. The seminar, entitled “Mediation in the Mediterranean: Developing Capacities and Synergies” took place in Madrid 11-12 February 2013.

The Spanish-Moroccan initiative on Mediation in the Mediterranean aims to give support to the UN efforts to strengthen the role of mediation in conflict resolution. The initial seminar, organized by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairstogether with Cooperation and the Toledo International Centre for Peace (CITpax) in Madrid, invited representatives from various international institutions, non-governmental organizations, academia, and experts on mediation, in total from 26 countries. The seminar engaged with questions about the ways in which mediation capacities can be enhanced in the Mediterranean, such as through increased cooperation at an international, regional, and local level.

Dr. Tiryaki participated as a speaker during the seminar’s second session on the role of national and local mediation actors and their capacity of coordination with others. The session addressed questions of the salient needs for local mediators today and the most effective way of developing their capacities, and the best mechanisms for cooperation between local and other levels of mediation during different phases of a conflict.

Mediation in the Mediterranean: Developing Capacities and Synergies

Mediation in the Mediterranean: Developing Capacities and Synergies

Dr. Sylvia Tiryaki, Deputy Director at GPoT Center, attended the first of two seminars as part of the United Nations Group of Friends of Mediation Spanish-Moroccan Initiative. The seminar, entitled “Mediation in the Mediterranean: Developing Capacities and Synergies” took place in Madrid 11-12 February 2013.

The Spanish-Moroccan initiative on Mediation in the Mediterranean aims to give support to the UN efforts to strengthen the role of mediation in conflict resolution. The initial seminar, organized by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairstogether with Cooperation and the Toledo International Centre for Peace (CITpax) in Madrid, invited representatives from various international institutions, non-governmental organizations, academia, and experts on mediation, in total from 26 countries. The seminar engaged with questions about the ways in which mediation capacities can be enhanced in the Mediterranean, such as through increased cooperation at an international, regional, and local level.

Dr. Tiryaki participated as a speaker during the seminar’s second session on the role of national and local mediation actors and their capacity of coordination with others. The session addressed questions of the salient needs for local mediators today and the most effective way of developing their capacities, and the best mechanisms for cooperation between local and other levels of mediation during different phases of a conflict.

Kdo si v Sýrii spálí prsty

Kdo si v Sýrii spálí prsty

 Z blogu Sylvie Tiryaki na portáli IHNED.cz

Vtažení Turecka do konfliktu by byl ideální scénář pro Bašára Asada, protože by sjednotil lid proti “vnějšímu nepříteli”. Turecko však sotva půjde do vojenského konfliktu se syrským režimem samo. Spíše v případě krajní nouze použije článek 5 Washingtonské smlouvy NATO v souběhu s článkem 51 Charty OSN. A to je přesně to, čemu se snaží ostatní členské státy vyhnout. Nikdo si v Sýrii nechce pálit prsty.

Málokterý z analytiků v západních demokraciích by rád viděl pokračování vlády režimu Bašára Asada v Sýrii. Navzdory některým zvláštním charakteristikám skladby syrské opozice by se shodli na tom, že cesty zpět už není.


Originál článku je prístupný v plnom znení na blogu IHNED.cz.

The Istanbul Forum 2012

The Istanbul Forum 2012

On October 8-10, 2012, GPoT Deputy Director Dr. Sylvia Tiryaki attended the Istanbul Forum 2012, an initiative launched by the Center for Strategic Communication (STRATİM). This year, the Istanbul Forum focused on the Middle East and regional issues.

The Istanbul Forum is an annual forum which includes European, American, Turkish and Middle Eastern participants with an aim to provide a forum for high-level, off-the-record discussion among diverse decision-makers and opinion shapers on shared policy challenges. This year’s 3rd Istanbul Forum started with opening remarks by H.E. President Abdullah Gül. The program included six sessions of closed roundtables taking up different critical themes.

EuroMeSCo Annual Conference 2012

EuroMeSCo Annual Conference 2012

Following the workshop entitled “The Multilateral Track of Euro-Mediterranean Relations: The Role of the Union for the Mediterranean”, which was organized by the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean, European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission (EuroMeSCo) in Barcelona on October 3, 2012, Dr. Tiryaki participated in the EuroMeSCo Annual Conference. The theme of this year’s conference taking place in Barcelona between October 4-5, 2012 was “Europe, the Mediterranean and the Arab Spring: Crisis as an Opportunity”.

Interview with News.Az

Interview with News.Az

July 27, 2012 | Baku | News.Az

News.Az interviews Dr. Sylvia Tiryaki, Deputy Director, Global Political Trends Center, Istanbul Kültür University.

There are few evidences of Turkey to become a new regional superpower. How would you estimate Turkish policy in the region?



Actually, there are more than few indicators. Almost all the opinion polls including Pew, Tesev, Brookings Institute show that people of the region like Turkey, respect Turkey and endorse its foreign policy in the region. Moreover, Turkey is increasingly becoming visible in the international fora, concerning the problems of the region.

There is an opinion that Turkey preferred to enhance its cooperation with the Islamic world after some problems has occurred in cooperation between Ankara and the EU. Will this step bring more benefits for Turkey, due to negative perception of Turkish membership to the EU, or just the opposite Turkey will loose restricting its cooperation with Brussels? 

First of all, these are not contradictory but complementary processes. Secondly, there is not much correlation between Turkey’ accession negotiations’ pace (or their “hiccups”) and Turkey’s involvement with the Middle East. Some of the changes in the Turkish foreign policy towards the region are by design, due to Ahmet Davutoglu’s vision, some of the changes happened by default. Israel Gaza intervention in 2009 was the turning point in the Turkish foreign policy, rather than the nature of the Turkey-EU relations.

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To read the whole article, please visit the website of the original source.

Dr. Tiryaki Has a Blog on Ihned.cz

Dr. Tiryaki Has a Blog on Ihned.cz

Dr. Tiryaki started to blog on Ihned.cz. Her first article about the elections in Egypt and the role of Turkey in the Middle East is accessible here.


Excerpt in Czech:

Na otázku, jakou úlohu by měl hrát islám v egyptské politice, 54 procent tázaných Egypťanů uvedlo, že takovou, jakou hraje v Turecku. Výsledky to nejsou překvapivé. Turecko už je delší dobu vnímáno jako země, která konkuruje tradičním územním mocnostem jako Írán nebo Saúdská Arábie.