So what happens now for President Erdogan and his ‘new Turkey’. In terms of the new US President, they are left in a tricky situation. Criticized and praised in roughly equal measure by the previous President, they cannot rely on the old ‘enemy-of-my-enemy’ tactic.

When Arsenal FC released their latest squad registration, a prominent name was left off the list. The World Cup winner, four time finalist for the male Ballon d’Or (football’s top individual award), and ten year’s veteran of Real Madrid and Arsenal, Mesut Özil, would not be playing any Premier League or European football this season. Questions were immediately raised about a possible link between his omission from Arsenal’s first team and his outspoken opinions on Uighurs Muslims in China.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing environmental disasters and destabilization of key regions in the Middle East, it is almost inevitable that we will face another humanitarian event like the 2015 refugee crisis. Yet, do we understand how to solve this issue?

The announcement of the reopening of Hagia Sophia to Muslim prayers has sparked controversy and criticism from Western leaders and revived discussions about the Islam-inspired policy of the Justice and Development Party (‘AKP’) government and Turkey's historical relationship with Christians. There is no doubt that the decision has a symbolic political significance, coming at a time in which tensions between Turkey and Greece are particularly high.

Around a decade ago, ‘zero problems with neighbors’ was the major doctrine that shaped the country’s multidimensional foreign policy. Today’s ‘new Turkey’ tends to solve its problems more aggressively; hunting the Kurds, ensuring its military presence in many countries, and invading and reclaiming territories that were once part of the Ottoman Empire.