June 2

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with an analysis of the political upheaval in Turkey where massive demonstrations have taken place in response to a brutal government crackdown on environmental protesters.  Asli Bali a professor at the UCLA School of Law who is in Istanbul joins us for an update on the protests and what this means in terms of Turkey’s role in the opposition to the Assad regime in Syria.

Part 2

Then we get another analysis on protests against the Islamist government of Prime Minister Erdogan from Soner Cagaptay, a regular columnist for Hurriyat Daily News who writes extensively on U.S./Turkish relations and Turkish domestic policy. He joins us to discuss what looks like a widening religious/secular divide in a country long dominated by the military that has recently seen unprecedented growth and prosperity and an emerging middle class.

Part 3

Then finally, we speak with Michael Klare, a Five College professor of peace and world security studies about the arms pouring into Syria from Russia and whether there will be a renewed Cold War-like arms race in the region with Russia arming Assad and the U.S. arming Israel. Michael Klare has an article at the Huffington post “The Cold War Redux?”