Since June 2023, when Recep Erdoğan was reelected as president, Turkey’s economy has, once again, been going through difficult times. Given the scale of the financial crisis and the consequences of February’s devastating earthquake, Recep Erdoğan was forced to appoint technocrats with degrees from US business schools to the government’s financial team. The two new appointees, Mehmet Şimşek (Minister of Treasury and Finance and Treasury) and Hafizeh Gaye Erkan (Governor of the Central Bank), in a bid to stabilize prices, have pushed through a number of tough…

The Palestinian-Israeli continued conflict in the Middle East has presented numerous obstacles to the nations’ ability to develop steadily. Regretfully, war invariably results in a large number of deaths and material destruction, as well as internal displacement and refugee movements, an uneven pace of economic growth, and social unrest. This is true for both direct participants (parties) in the conflict and co-participants (partners) of a party. For obvious reasons, the Israeli army’s savagery against the civilian populace of the Gaza Strip has led to a widespread spike of anti-Israeli…

According to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES), “the prospect of the EU receiving more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Egypt in the short and medium term looks unachievable due to tight gas balances and reduced imports form Israel.” Or, to put it in less academic terms, we can say that this is clearly what Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, namely that Europe, which has followed the US line and refused to buy cheap Russian gas, has caused itself and its people lasting economic, financial and political harm. Last year, for example, Egypt shipped 80 percent…

The aftermath of Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October has left Israeli companies devastated as settlers face an unfamiliar situation, unprecedented in the absence of government financial injections and aid for them. More than a month into the Hamas operation, the war in Gaza has had a devastating effect on Israeli business activity, with hundreds of companies on the verge of bankruptcy. Economists and financiers estimate that the initial cost of the Gaza war to Tel Aviv is $51 billion, or about 10 per cent of Israel’s GDP. Israel’s Labour Ministry reports that some 765,000 Israelis…

Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey is currently going through something of a crisis in relation to its foreign policy, and its neo-Ottoman ambitions to revive its status as an imperial power. Or, in other words, along with Turkey’s growing economic crisis, it may also be suffering from a kind of “diplomatic stagnation” caused by a number of factors. NATO’s expansion to the North-East, or, specifically, Finland and Sweden’s accession to the alliance, was unexpectedly opposed by its easternmost member, Turkey. Ankara, using its influence with the Turkic states…

Apparently, financial crises do not occur overnight, because they are preceded by whole series of events and unsuccessful decisions related to financial market conditions, contradictions of internal financial policy and external dictate of world currencies, mistakes made by one’s own government, and any number of other factors. In this regard, financial experts are able to write entire books (treatises) with explanations of the causes leading to any given financial crisis. However, politicians often ignore the scientific…

In mid-September, Cuba hosted the latest meeting of the Group of 77, which was created in 1964 to promote collective economic interests. Today, the Group has 134 States, representing 80% of the world’s population. This meeting set out to “change the rules of the game” after centuries of domination by wealthy Western powers putting their own interests first. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said developing countries have been the main victims of the multi-dimensional crisis in the world today, “from abusive unequal trade to devastating climate change.” According to the Cuban leader, the North…

On the eve of its 100th anniversary, the Republic of Turkey is experiencing a difficult period due to a severe economic crisis and tense relations with the United States. Inflation has broken new records and has already reached 60%, while the Turkish lira has plummeted to 27.2 per US dollar. Strategic stability has yet to be attained, no matter how much Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Treasury and Finance, strives to follow international economic rules and bind himself…

U.K. tabloids have begun cranking out propaganda about Russia’s ruble “being crushed” this week by the stock markets. The “news” prompted this analyst to dig deeper into where the Russian people stand in 2023 economically. With a significant conflict blazing on their border in war-torn Ukraine, the Russian people are enjoying an economy even better than in 2013, before the Euromaidan and tons of sanctions began being used to hurt the Putin administration and the people…

Many observers believe that the most important development in the US financial and economic situation was Fitch’s downgrade of the country’s debt rating from its highest level of AAA to AA+ in early August this year, with the agency noting “a steady deterioration in governance standards over the past 20 years,” adding that “repeated political standoffs over the debt limit and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management.” The same agency downgraded 10 more US banks a few days later. Bloomberg says the outlook of the US economy promises…

Since taking office as Iraq’s president in October 2022, Mohammed Shia’ Sabbar Al-Sudani has made, or at least formally announced, a battle against corruption the centerpiece of his domestic agenda. Its progress has been, to put it mildly, underwhelming despite this long-overdue attempt to address the most difficult and crippling issue that is literally eating away at every aspect of society. An entrenched sectarian and tribal system of power sharing does not reduce systemic corruption. Iraq still struggles with inefficiency, bureaucracy, widespread kleptocracy, and a robust patronage system despite its massive oil resources…

Pakistan’s economy has experienced a severe downturn in the past year due to a combination of factors. Bad governance, IMF loans, the political instability, the trade imbalance, the devastating floods of 2022 in Pakistan, and the Russia-Ukraine crisis are some of the pivotal factors that have worsened inflation and unemployment in the country. Many industries have scaled down or terminated operations in the country, causing widespread unemployment. Inflation is projected to reach 33% by the end of the current fiscal year. Currently Pakistan imports far more…