Süleyman Seyfi Öğün All daily Yeni Şafak Columns

Süleyman Seyfi Öğün

107 columns listing

Musk vs. Trump: The Populist Breakup That Was Bound to Happen

08 June 2025, Sunday

I can’t say I was surprised when the news broke. I had predicted it. I remember mentioning it once or twice—perhaps even writing it down. It wasn’t exactly difficult to foresee that two megalomaniacs couldn’t walk the same tightrope for long. Musk and Trump, two fellow travelers, have clashed and split. Could they reunite? It’s not impossible, but highly unlikely. Even if they do, we can safely say it will no longer be the close-knit, bosom buddy relationship of old. The significance of this break

The Trump-Putin call and the geopolitical chessboard

22 March 2025, Saturday

When Russia announced, in its official statement, that it would launch an "operation" against Ukraine, everyone thought Ukraine would be an easy target and that the "operation" would not last long, concluding within a week at most. After all, hadn’t Russia seized Crimea in a similar manner, through a lightning operation, not too long ago? Putin framed the goals of the operation as follows: liberating the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, where the Russian minority lives; cleansing Ukraine of neo-Nazi

Viewing Middle East Events Through the Lens of Global Relations

17 December 2024, Tuesday

While the world focused on the Russia-Ukraine war, the October 7th events and the subsequent developments took everyone by surprise. It's now clear that this wasn't a random occurrence. Israel's fascist, extremist government seized the opportunity and initiated a literal genocide in Gaza. They didn't stop there; they expanded the operation into Lebanon and Syria. This expansion was primarily aimed at a final confrontation with Iran. However, there were two broader global dimensions to this. Beyond

Poker, Russian Roulette, and History

28 November 2024, Thursday

During my university years, I spent a significant amount of time in coffeehouses. It still amazes me that I managed to do my most intense reading amidst the chaos and noise of those settings. However, I was never skilled at coffeehouse games. I’ve never learned to play backgammon or any card games. Instead, a few friends and I became engrossed in chess—a game I came to adore as one of the greatest inventions of the human mind. Even today, I relish the opportunity to play whenever I can. Among my

Reflections on Trump's Second Term

23 November 2024, Saturday

There is a certain segment in Türkiye that wholeheartedly wished for Trump to win the U.S. election and was overjoyed when he did. At first glance, their reasoning seems quite justified. Democrats have always maintained a cold attitude toward Türkiye, and during Biden’s presidency, this took the form of an overtly hostile stance. This was hardly surprising; during his campaign, Biden openly stated that his administration did not support the legitimate government in Türkiye and would work with opposition

State-sponsored terrorism...

19 September 2024, Thursday

In the history of states, revolts and uprisings hold a significant place. This can be well explained by the center-periphery theory. States are organized, centralized institutions, and in their world, everything is considered peripheral. In the Ottoman Empire, the concept of the periphery carried both geopolitical and cultural meanings, representing a form of state exclusion both geographically and politically. The central-peripheral dialectic primarily involves the state taking surplus from the

East Mediterranean and the Caucasus

09 September 2024, Monday

It is now widely understood that in this century, and in those to come, the world's new center of gravity will be Afro-Eurasia. The Mediterranean, especially its eastern part, is one of the key regions at the heart of this dynamic. Recently, significant natural resources have been discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean, a development that has attracted attention not only from the neighboring countries but also from major global players. Western, Asian, and Eurasian energy companies, along with

On Kursk…

18 August 2024, Sunday

The Russia-Ukraine war will be remembered in the future as a hybrid conflict that shows how the nature of war has transformed. Some authorities refer to it as the Fourth Generation War. It’s truly unusual. This is a shadowy war where the real sides are both present and absent. Those who look deeper suggest that this conflict is actually a manifestation of the US-China struggle for global dominance. One of these actors, the US, is partially visible on the ground through its financial and military

Notes on Decaying Olympism

29 July 2024, Monday

We have been observing a tradition passed down from ancient Greeks to the modern world for years. The ancient Greek civilization mainly consisted of small city-states. These city-states, benefiting from the wealth accumulated in the Eastern Mediterranean, shared a common language and ethnicity but refused to share their riches or form a political union. There was constant competition, tension, and warfare among these cities, each with its own political traditions. Eventually, these Greek city-states

The implications of the Iranian elections

30 June 2024, Sunday

Our neighbor Iran held the first round of presidential elections. It must be noted from the outset that the outcome is quite thought-provoking. None of the candidates managed to surpass the 50% threshold. Consequently, the two candidates who received the most votes advanced to the second round. What stood out was that the candidate with the highest number of votes was Masoud Pezeshkian. Known for his critical distance from the regime's practices, Pezeshkian is characterized as a reformist figure.