Search

In this age of confrontation, the secular Turkish model has been seen as a bridge between Islam and the West as well as the link between Europe and Asia. Now that model faces the most severe test in its history. How the current crisis is settled will frame future relations between Islam and the West no less than the events of 9/11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the text of the speech given by Joschka Fischer, former German foreign minister of the Green Party, in Tehran, Iran on August 1, 2006, to the Iranian Center for Strategic Research. Fischer was invited to speak about the state and future of European-Iranian relations, as well as the interest in the developments in the Iranian region .

Focuses on the political and economic integration of Europe. Role of the European Monetary Union (EMU) on European sovereignty; Historical roots of the European integration process; Assessment of the relations of Europe with Germany; Political structure of Europe.

Considers the creation of a knowledge-based society in order to adapt to globalization in the 21st century. Cooperative multi-lateral structures involved in globalization; Lack of cooperative security and political structures in Asia in comparison with Europe; Significance of power in the media to achieve change in governance.

Interviews Joschka Fischer, the most prominent leader of the Green Party in Germany. Use of military force to prevent genocide in Bosnia; Methods that can be developed to prevent genocide by other than military means; Redefinition of the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The article discusses the need for the consumer classes to downsize their appetites and for the aspiring to de-industrialize their desires if sustainable development is to be achieved in the world's increasingly globalized economic environment. Sustainable development also requires the localized poor to become greener and the globalized middle class to reduce the ecological impact of their activities.

The article comments on the Turkish crisis in 2007, which centers on the alleged attempt by Islamists to slowly corrode secular rule from within by taking over the democratically-elected parliament, the presidency and the military in Turkey. Also cited are the issues' implications for politics and government in Turkey.

The article comments on the emergence of hybrid cultures, a fact of life caused by the increased migration of people from poor countries to satisfy the labor requirements of the advanced world's shrinking and aging population. The global penetration of the mass media also plays a role in the assignment of value to migration and the emergence of hybrid cultures.