Turkey

Turkey's Syria policy appears to be changing trajectory, signaled by three recent developments: the July 16 attempted coup, which exposed rifts within the military; the August 9 meeting between Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian president Vladimir Putin; and Turkey's incursion into Syria, culminating in the capture of Jarabulus

As the Kurds continue to pursue their goal of a contiguous territory in northern Syria, various nonmilitary factors will determine whether their nascent statelet is viable in the long term, including a host of demographic, economic, water, and oil issues.

As Turkey vies for influence in Syria and Iraq and stability across its borders with those countries, it will need to make peace with its own Kurdish community.

The post-coup fallout spells trouble for NATO, Europe, and the Turkish president's foes.

Given Erdogan's crucial role against the Islamic State, Washington should be careful not to alienate him, in particular by avoiding critical public statements that won't change his behavior anyway.

An in-depth conversation about why the coup happened and what implications it holds for Islamist mobilization in the streets, public perceptions of the military, and cooperation with the United States in Syria.

Erdogan's response to the coup is feeding the revenge fantasies of Muslim Brotherhood leaders eager to return home and seize power back from the Sisi government.

Erdogan brought Turkish democracy to the brink of disaster before the coup, but the officers who attempted the takeover have pushed it into the abyss.

Islamism is not a form of the Muslim faith or an expression of Muslim piety; it is, rather, a political ideology that strives to derive legitimacy from Islam.