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Muhittin Ataman
mataman@setav.org Twitter

Muhittin Ataman

Director, Foreign Policy & Editor-in-chief, Insight Turkey
Prof. Ataman graduated from the Faculty of Political Science in the Department of International Relations at Ankara University. Ataman earned his MA at Central Oklahoma University, and PhD at University of Kentucky between 1996 and 1999. He worked as an RA and a faculty member afterwards in the Department of International Relations at Abant İzzet Baysal University from 1993 until 2014. Ataman is currently a faculty member at the Faculty of Political Science in the Department of International Relations at Social Sciences University of Ankara. Prof. Ataman worked at SETA for three years as a part-time researcher in Foreign Policy Research Department. Currently, he serves as SETA's Director of Foreign Policy Studies and conducts academic research on Turkish foreign policy, the Middle East politics and the Gulf politics. Ataman is also the Editor-in-Chief of Insight Turkey, a journal published by SETA Foundation.

Directors

  • U.S. President Donald Trump (L), Israeli Prime Minister (R) Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House
    Opinion
    The most recent decision made by the U.S. government can be considered the last nail in the coffin of the international system. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that the U.S. will soften its position on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
  • Protestors, affected from the gas bomb thrown by security forces, are seen during the ongoing anti-government demonstrations, at Al-Khilani Square in Iraq's capital Baghdad on November 10, 2019. ( Murtadha Sudani - Anadolu Agency )
    Opinion
    The world has been witnessing popular demonstrations across the globe recently. From Chile and Bolivia to Hong Kong, demonstrations have cropped up against governments and ruling elites..
  • Turkey - US - EU
    Opinion
    Turkey initiated a large-scale Westernization project immediately after the declaration of the Republic. It had decided to follow the footsteps of the enemy it had fought during World War I and the Independence War. It introduced many political, economic, even social and cultural reforms during the first two decades of the interwar period. In the wake of World War II, the Soviet threat further paved the way for Turkey's alliance with the West.
  • Footage captured by an Anadolu Agency drone in northern Syria depicts the location where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of terrorist group Daesh, or ISIS, was killed by the U.S. forces.
    Opinion
    The United States has declared that it killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Daesh, after a successful military operation on Oct. 27. The death of Baghdadi will be a new turning point for the struggle against international terrorism and for Middle Eastern politics. The de-territorialization of Daesh was also a turning point, because with de-territorialization, Daesh had lost its claim on a caliphate and statehood. Therefore, in the near future, it has to restructure itself according to the new realities.
  • A Turkish tank moves toward the border with Syria in southeastern Şanlıurfa province to join Operation Peace Spring, Oct. 14, 2019.
    Opinion
    The Arab League's approach to the Turkish counterterrorism operation east of the Euphrates is irrational and doesn't serve regional peace or stability