Introduction

Abstract

The December 2023 issue of our journal brings together our esteemed readers with six different articles. In this issue, two articles, one focusing on the Middle East and the other on the Asian continent research paper, both of which are on the most important agenda of Turkey and indeed the world.
Two opinion pieces and two publication reviews focusing on the impact of the Ukraine War and China's No Belt Initiative on Central Asia.

The first research article, authored by Gülenay Göksenin Eren, is an in-depth study on Iran-Israel relations after the 2006 Lebanon-Israel War in the axis of sectarian narratives and its strategic shifts. It reveals how sectarian divisions, which play an important role in shaping the regional balance of power in the Middle East, have shaped geopolitical issues in the region. In particular, the impact of the political atmosphere between 2006-2015 on Iran Israel relations is analysed.

Our authors Mohmad Maqbool Waggy and Dr. Khalid Wasim Hassan have written the second research article of this issue, which comparatively examines the behaviour of India and Pakistan within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The behaviour of these two states, which have shown reluctance to interact with each other within SAARC since 2019, has been analysed using the prisoner's dilemma.

The first opinion piece, written by Samet İşbilen, focuses on Moldova with reference to the Ukraine War. Aiming to shed light on the question of whether Moldova will become the next Ukraine, İşbilen presents an analysis of Russia's regional policies.

The second opinion article belongs to Fatma Bilgin. Bilgin, who deals with China's Belt and Road Initiative on the axis of Kyrgyzstan, sheds light on the economic dimension of geopolitical balances in the region while revealing China's Central Asia policies.

The first review in the publication evaluation section belongs to Büşra Nur Adas. Adas made a comprehensive review of Orhan Gafarli's book ‘Russia's Detachment from the West’, which was published by Nika Publishing House in 2022. The second evaluation belongs to Fatma Kıyak and is written by Ufuk Tok, published by Tasav Publishing House in 2022, ‘Developments in Afghanistan: International Actors and Turkiye's Attitude’.

We would like to thank all the authors who contributed to this issue of our journal by submitting their works and all the referees who laboured in the evaluation process of these works. We would like to express our gratitude and hope that the ongoing interest in our journal from the national and international academic community will continue.