By Dr. David Wurmser August 7, 2020 Part 1: Lebanon-What happened? Part I of this series will review the facts of what we know has happened and an analysis of the horrific catastrophe in Beirut on August 4 itself. Part II will focus on the ramifications. A few minutes after 6PM on Tuesday August 4, […]
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Israel’s High Court Risks Becoming a Tyranny of Judges
By Dr. David Wurmser May 2, 2020 Israel’s courts and Israeli democracy Several weeks ago, Yuli Edelstein, the Speaker of Israel’s Knesset (Parliament) resigned to avoid implementing an Israeli supreme court (High Court of Justice-HCJ) edict to reconvene parliament and hold a vote to oust himself. Not only did the HCJ ruling upturn delicate negotiations […]
Read MoreThe Background Strategic Debate Quietly Affecting Israel’s Politics – Part 2
By Dr. David Wurmser Part II In part I of this essay, we examined how the strategic debate in Israel no longer revolved around the peace process, but deeper strategic questions. In turn, we examined how there was a strategic evolution in the United States from the late 1950s until the 1970s. In this second […]
Read MoreThe Background Strategic Debate Quietly Affecting Israel’s Politics – Part 1
By Dr. David Wurmser Part I Israel has had three elections within about a year and may even require a fourth. The drama surrounding this deadlock, and the chaotic mechanics of forming, or failing to form, a government is obscuring deeper trends which also affect the elections’ outcomes. These are trends in some cases which […]
Read MoreRussia and the Return of Civilizations in the Near East – Part III
By Dr. David Wurmser January 21, 2020 In parts I and II of this series, we examined the rise of Russia’s foreign policy as a consequence of its belief in the rise of culture and civilization as the foundations for understanding the Middle East after the collapse of the Sykes-Picot state system, focusing on the […]
Read MoreRussia and the Return of Civilizations in the Near East – Part II
By Dr. David Wurmser January 21, 2020 In Part I of this piece, we reviewed how Russia is informed by a civilizational concept of foreign policy. It sees itself anchored to both an ancient Byzantine legacy, as well as a Eurasian power – which is an amalgamation of pre-Renaissance European culture with Mongolian culture, according […]
Read MoreRussia and the Return of Civilizations in the Near East – Part I
By Dr. David Wurmser January 21, 2020 As the new year begins, the Middle East looks eerily similar to the way it has for the last several new years’ eves. Despite civil war in Syria and Libya, those who based their prognosis on the persistence of the reigning paradigm appear vindicated. That paradigm rested on […]
Read MoreAnswering Erdogan’s Ambitions
By Dr. David Wurmser December 17, 2019 Over the last several years, President Erdogan consolidated his grip on the structures of power, security, law, education and public discourse in Turkey. And yet, he recently suffered a humiliating electoral setback when an opposition leader was elected as mayor of Istanbul. Undaunted, President Erdogan used his domination […]
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