Last weekend’s parliamentary election in Turkey produced unsurprising results, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) claiming victory with nearly 50 percent of the vote. As world leaders congratulate the AKP on its three-term success, they are also assessing the implications for their countries’ future relationship with Turkey. The European Union, in particular, will need to determine where the Turkish accession process is headed.
Sometimes when presidents are elected, they siphon off old vestiges of previous administrations. Perhaps they discard a rarely used perk or discontinue a tradition such as the playing of “Hail to the Chief.” But never has this nation seen an administration treat the idea of American exceptionalism in the same manner you would a used Oval Office carpet. Sure, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden recognize that America was once the leader of the free world, they simply think that the line of thinking is something to be admired in …
Tomorrow, the European Union will unveil its Europe 2020 strategy, designed to make Europe the most competitive, dynamic, knowledge-based economy by 2020. If the slogan appears familiar, that’s because it is. In 2000, the EU launched its Lisbon Agenda, to make Europe the most competitive, dynamic, knowledge-based economy by 2010. It failed. Badly. But instead of admitting defeat, the EU has resorted to its time honored tradition – don’t let a good crisis go to waste. It has become even more hubristic, seeking to centralize greater areas of policymaking and …
International expectations went through the roof one year ago today with the election of Barack Obama. The United Stated had elected the man whom many across the globe expected to be the anti-Bush. As controversial abroad as President Bush’s stance on the long war against terrorism had been, just as euphoric was the reaction to the election of the Democratic presidential nominee. The jubilation reflected a belief that as president, Obama would think less like an American and more like the rest of the world – however that was defined. …
