Geopolitical Analyses & Reports by JM Jakus
Why does Turkmenistan have seven quarantines and zero officially diagnosed Coronavirus cases? Cur... more Why does Turkmenistan have seven quarantines and zero officially diagnosed Coronavirus cases? Currently, there is a quarantine site in each of the 5 Provinces (Ahal, Balkan, Dashoguz, Lebap, and Mary) plus two additional sites within the capital province (Ahal). The most exclusive of these is situated in the valley of Archabil (formerly known as Powrize) about 10-20 km from the capital city, Aşgabat. Because the house of the president is also located in this valley, it has been designated for close relatives and contacts of the president. Average citizens are sent to a second nearby location in Choganly. The third quarantine of this province is located on the Iranian-Turkmen border region of Sarahs. Second only to China, Iran has suffered the highest recorded number of deaths associated with the virus (NBC, 2020). Given that Aşgabat, the capital city of Turkmenistan is a mere 1-hour drive from the Iranian border, it is almost impossible to believe that the country has not contracted any cases of the virus.
As more and more people rush into the arms of Turkey, she herself has been thrown against the col... more As more and more people rush into the arms of Turkey, she herself has been thrown against the cold stone wall of “Fortress Europe” with nowhere to go, politically or otherwise. The Russian airstrike in the earliest hours of the 28 of February 2020 cemented a reality that has been formulating since the Syrian conflict escalations following the US departure last fall: the third wave of the refugee crisis. According to the UNHCR data, of the 5,561,824 persons in positions of concern and registered as refugees. Of these, 3,587,266 of them (67%) currently reside in Turkey (Operational Portal of Refugee Situations, 2020). However, since December alone, 950,00 have been displaced, and they have already begun to flee towards the Syrian-Turkish border.
This article analyzes the implications of the recent airstrikes in Idlib, Syria upon Turkish fore... more This article analyzes the implications of the recent airstrikes in Idlib, Syria upon Turkish foreign policy decisions. Specifically, it identifies the spectrum of geopolitical perspectives about Turkey’s foreign policy positioning before and after the Russian attack on Turkish soldiers. Idlib, a town of 3 million+ people just 59 km South of Aleppo, is known as one of the last remaining strongholds run by forces opposing Russian-backed President Bashar al-Assad. Since the US departure from the northwestern region (September 2019) and the Turkish offensive in the region (9 October 2019), notched escalations in the Syrian conflict have come at more rapid successions. In light of these developments in northwestern Syria, what policy decisions would make the most sense, and which would not? This piece was written the morning after the attack.
In Spain, they’ve been assigned the alias, "Los Manteros," the blanket people. They spread their ... more In Spain, they’ve been assigned the alias, "Los Manteros," the blanket people. They spread their livelihoods—namely counterfeit purses, tennis shoes, belts, bags, and other emblem-bearing items— on bedsheets laid out on the pavement. The sheets are tugged taught and set with care, presented for passerby’s to peruse through and pick over. When the sheets are stepped upon, it is almost always a conscientious dark hand that smooths their edges back into place. As the world they walked into walks by, they wait by their wares, ready to sell or dismantle quickly.
Nearly three decades after Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm which occurred in the Persian... more Nearly three decades after Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm which occurred in the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), the United States Veteran’s Administration (VA) continues to receive claims for those suffering from Gulf War Syndrome. These claims cover a cluster of symptoms such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, functional gastrointestinal disorders, among other lingering and/or undiagnosed illnesses. Quiet, chronic, and difficult to pinpoint, the illness is often relegated to the status of the latter: undiagnosed.
Papers by JM Jakus
Horizon Research (HRPUB), 2017
The political principle of Laicism was institutionalized in the constitutions of both France and ... more The political principle of Laicism was institutionalized in the constitutions of both France and Turkey supposedly establishing the separation of religion and state. This project seeks to identify whether French Laïcité and Turkish Laiklik have ever implemented Laicism in ways that fully separate the church and state and if so, to understand at which critical periods their comparability as assertively secular nations derailed. Although French and Turkish Laic-values are built upon a similar platform of nationalism, similar factors influencing the corrosion of Laicism in each case have produced inverse results regarding secularism in the contemporary. Confronting the notion of 'dual laicism's' I claim instead that both France and Turkey have undergone roughly similar processes since the birth of Laicism in each context but have been alternately shaped according to the dynamic interaction between prevailing ideologies of the dominant politic, society's perception of national value and national narrative. The fundamental difference between France and Turkey is more poignantly the direction of Laicism's corruption than the intensity of it. Have French Laïcité and Turkish Laiklik ever implemented Laicism in ways that fully separate the church and state, and if so at which points did they deviate?
Academic Research by JM Jakus
Although Bosnia is often lumped amongst the fourth wave of democracies emerging after the fall of... more Although Bosnia is often lumped amongst the fourth wave of democracies emerging after the fall of the Soviet Union, Bosnia is far from enjoying the fruits of democracy. The surge of liberal momentum in the 1980s may have shaken loose oppressive rule, but it does not appear to have rid this Tripartite government of certain, harmful vestigial characteristics of oppression. Now, a grave lack of follow-through with democratic institutions presents bleak prospects for the fulfillment of Bosnian democracy—at least in the near future. Adhering to the notion that, “democratization means a net movement toward broader, more equal, more protected, and more mutually binding consultation …” and vice versa, our question regarding Bosnia’s prospects for democratization should be focused on trajectory. Three theories, in particular, can be beneficial in understanding the future of Bosnian democracy: (1) Democratization and De-democratization by Charles Tilly, (2) The Non-cooperative Model of Transition and Causal Path of Post-communist Regime Change within McFaul’s writings on “The Fourth Wave of Democracy and Dictatorship,” and (3) Rustow’s Genesis Theory of Democracy. Through the lens of these theories, we will zoom into the Bosnian question: is Bosnia moving toward or away from democracy?
Although Professor Jean Baptiste Duroselle, author of “A European History of Europe,” passionatel... more Although Professor Jean Baptiste Duroselle, author of “A European History of Europe,” passionately presents a historical narrative which seeks to explain the European Identity as a conception existing from “…before history was recorded to the present time,” this narrative is better viewed as political rhetoric rather than historical narrative. Published as a press release by the European Commission (EC) in 1989, the utopian vision of a ‘superior and united’ Europe echoes in accordance with the national narratives of nearly any and every state seeking to rally its citizens. What makes this situation stand out? The difference between this narrative and the others is not what is being said, but who is saying it. This is among the earliest significant examples in contemporary history when a politico-economic supration is projecting the valor of its own genesis. Such narratives trace the same motif: altruism injected into the intentions of the politicians most prominent in shaping the new collective; they are also typically credited with the vision of a common identity or deep-seeded superiority (e.g. “Europe is a historical reality dating back to prehistoric times…”). As Monnet, de Gaulle, Spaak, de Gasperi, Adenauer, Acheson, Bevin, Marjolin, and others are elevated to ‘European sainthood’ (to borrow a term from Alan Milward), the scenario presented by Duroselle is no different. Before continuing, I should note that this review is not written to undermine the life’s work of these individuals, but rather to counter Duroselle’s grandiose notion that a “new Europe brought into being by the endeavours of the Community Member States is slowly but surely reconstructing the European identity of ancient times and the European genius generated by the synergy between diverse cultures belonging to one and the same civilization.” Exaggerated claims like these undermine both the genuine finesse and shortcomings of practical statesmen who were solving large-scale circumstantial problems in the wake of the Second World War. This paper counters that, at least on the topic of European Identity, France’s acclaimed Duroselle was writing as a politician, not as a historian—whether he knew it or not. Duroselle’s emotionally charged and forthright pious narrative does more than toe the line of propaganda. As Mark Gilbert notes “The European Commission has no doubts about what European integration represents and has tried its hardest to diffuse an orthodox narrative of how the Union was constructed, as even a brief glance at the Europa website shows.” Alongside writers such as Alan Milward, Dinon Desmond, Mark Gilbert, Phinnemore, and others, this paper argues that Duroselle’s bias as an individual prompted him to bypass very critical questions pertaining to the European Identity as a historian, namely: What concrete political developments, initiatives, and actions led to the increased integration of European nations, politically, economically, and culturally?
When did the discussion of “Fixed versus Floating Exchange Rates” fall out of vogue? As verticall... more When did the discussion of “Fixed versus Floating Exchange Rates” fall out of vogue? As vertically and horizontally intertwined economies have become the norm rather than the exception, the discourse on strictly fixed exchange rates is more of a history lesson than anything else. The discussion that once dominated the field of economics in the era of the Bretton Woods System (dismantled between 1968-73) where 44 signatories assented to peg their national currencies to the USD (valued then at $35 USD per every ounce of gold) has become something more foundational than ground-breaking (The Balance, 2019). While it is wholly important to educate individuals how and why these decades shaped the current financial system, it is even more important to impart that the financial architecture which we have come to know, even in the post-Bretton Woods era is already becoming antiquated, particularly given the rise of Blockchain tech (more on this in the next article). But before jumping into the reasons why the “Fixed versus Floating” debate has less and less to offer. Here's why.
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Geopolitical Analyses & Reports by JM Jakus
Papers by JM Jakus
Academic Research by JM Jakus