Turkey has faced a relatively limited but consistent threat from jihadist militants linked to al-Qaeda dating back to the 1980s/90s, particularly following the return of Turkish fighters from Afghanistan (Hurriyet, October, 2001). The 2003 Istanbul bombings that resulted in over 60 fatalities triggered a major... MORE

On July 1, the Georgian government unilaterally revoked the 45-day visa-free travel rules with Iran (www.iveroni.com.ge, July 3). Georgia implemented a visa-free regime with Iran in January 2011, under President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration. Although, the step increased the number of Iranian visitors in Georgia from... MORE

On June 29, a conference in support of the Syrian Circassians took place in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. The participants in the conference demanded that Moscow relax visa rules and simplify the granting of refugee status to Circassians from Syria, who have reportedly experienced extreme hardship there... MORE

In less than a year, the Caucasus Emirate’s leaders have reversed their position on whether or not to view the uprising in Syria as a sacred jihad. The leader of the North Caucasian jihadist movement, Doku Umarov, spoke rather ambiguously in a video address last... MORE

Mustapha Amin Badreddine (a.k.a. Mustapha Youssef Badreddine, Sami Issa, Elias Fouad Sa’b, Ilyas Sa’b and by his nom-de-guerre Dhu al-Fiqar) is an important military and intelligence leader in the Lebanese Hezbollah. Badreddine is reported to have succeeded Imad Mughniyeh as the head of Hezbollah’s majlis... MORE

Tribalism remains a primary form of communal identity among Arab Sunnis across Syria, regardless of whether they live in rural or urban areas. As a powerful source of socio-political mobilization, Syrian Arab tribalism has shaped the conflict since the first demonstrations against the al-Assad government... MORE

The Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SAM) and Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted a conference this month in Baku on “Cooperation in the Caspian Region: National Perspectives and Common Challenges.” In his conference keynote speech, SAM director... MORE

Throughout 2012, Russian leaders refused to admit that there were any Chechens fighting on the side of the Syrian opposition. Ramzan Kadyrov tirelessly reassured the public that reports of Chechens being involved in the armed conflict in Syria were false (https://rusnovosti.ru/news/214102/). Kadyrov was apparently concerned... MORE

The question of Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian civil war has become more intense following the recent capture of the strategic, central-western Syrian border city of al-Qusayr in Homs governorate to Syrian military and Hezbollah forces. After al-Qusayr fell, mass media reports emerged that Hezbollah... MORE

The 500,000 Circassians in the North Caucasus have long drawn strength and encouragement from the continuing vitality of the 5-million-strong Circassian diaspora in the countries of the Middle East. A major source of the diaspora’s strength in turn has been the participation of many of... MORE