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The IHH delivers relief aid to 140 countries worldwide. Quite recently, as a novel humanitarian practice, the IHH has begun acting as a mediator in intra-state conflicts and even accumulated considerable experience in it. In the Bangsamoro peace process, for instance, the IHH was invited to play a mediator role as part of the internationally crewed Third Party Monitoring Team. Similarly, the IHH has been called upon to play mediatory roles in resolving kidnapping incidents in Syria and Pakistan, and has done so by negotiating with armed groups for the release of kidnapped and captive civilians. This paper, therefore, aims to explore the dynamics of and the motivations behind the IHH's extension of its international humanitarian mission beyond providing relief and to examine the place of such civilian mediator role in the broader humanitarian turn in Turkey's contemporary foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid improvement of political, economic and cultural relations between Turkey and Russia during the 2000s reinforced the image that the two countries have been developing a strategic partnership with each other. However, in the light of the widening discord between Ankara and Moscow regarding the Syrian civil war and NATO missile defense issue since 2010, it has become increasingly difficult to define the Turkish- Russian relations as a strategic partnership. This article aims to explore the influence of these two current developments on the future of the Turkish-Russian relations and analyze the two countries' respective interest and threat perceptions with regard to the Syrian crisis and NATO missile defense issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey and Iran are on opposite sides of a bloody civil war in Syria. But competition is not novel to these countries, and the intensity of their current rivalry may be exaggerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]