Kadir Ustun

Executive Director

Kadir Ustun is the Executive Director at the SETA Foundation at Washington, D.C. He also served as an Assistant Editor of Insight Turkey, an academic journal published by the SETA Foundation. Dr. Ustun holds a PhD in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies from Columbia University and a Master’s degree in History from Bilkent University. He has contributed to various SETA reports and his writings have appeared in various publications such as Insight Turkey, Al Jazeera English, Daily Sabah, Hurriyet Daily News, Mediterranean Quarterly, and Cairo Review of Global Affairs among others. He is also co-editor of edited volumes History, Politics and Foreign Policy in Turkey, Change and Adaptation in Turkish Foreign Policy, and Politics and Foreign Policy in Turkey: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.

You can reach Kadir by email at kadirustun [at] setadc [dot] org.

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• US Strikes do not Deliver a Syria Policy

  The U.S. strikes on Syrian chemical weapons facilities have delivered the Assad regime a strong message but a very narrow one. Assad can continue to attack the Syrian people with conventional weapons ..Read more

• Assad Knows Chemical Attacks Will Not End His Regime

  Assad is at it again. His regime used chemical weapons against civilians in ..Read more

• What “America First” May Mean for the Middle East

  It was only in January when former Secretary of State Tillerson announced a Syr..Read more

• Can Manbij serve as a Model for US-Turkey Cooperation in Syria?

  The U.S. and Turkey have been pursuing conflicting strategies in northern Syria for a while now. Turkey adamantly pursued to end the U.S. support for the YPG while the Trump administration has seen th..Read more

• Is Pompeo the Right Man for a Trumpian Foreign Policy?

  ..Read more

• Some Myths about the YPG

  Ever since Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Syria, its goals have been mischaracterized and quite a few myths continue to thrive. One of these is that Turkey is conducting the op..Read more

• The US must end Support to the YPG to repair Ties with Turkey

  The U.S. must end its military and political support to the YPG not only to repair ties with Turkey but also to bring long lasting stability to Syria. If the U.S. is interested in a semblance of stabi..Read more

• The Operation Olive Branch and the US Policy in Syria

  In a speech on the US Syria policy,[1] Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson explained that th..Read more

• The KRG’s Independence Bid Spells Trouble

  The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) referendum on independence is no great news for an already fractured country and a destabilized region. Independence is an openly stated goal of the Iraqi K..Read more

• Turkey-KRG Relationship: Mutual Interests, Geopolitical Challenges

  This analysis outlines the main drivers of the relationship between Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).In less than a week, on September 25, the KRG is planning to hold a referendum on..Read more

• EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement: Too Big to Fail

  The migrant crisis that has stemmed from the ongoing strife in the MENA region is one of the most devastating and consequential crises of modern times. Its impact has been felt across continents, in c..Read more

• It’s time for the US to stop alienating its allies

  Turkey's April 25 air strikes against Kurdistan Wor..Read more

• Turkish Strikes Expose Missing Link in Anti-ISIS Campaign

  Turkey’s latest air raids targeting the YPG in northern Syria and the PKK in northern Iraq have, once again laid bare the deep differences between the US and Turkey o..Read more

• The US must heed Turkish concerns in Syria

  United States Senator John McCain has it right that the US has underestimated and, at times, disregarded Turkey's concern over its support for the People's Protection Units (YPG) in ..Read more

• The April 16 Referendum is an Opportunity for Turkey

  The AK Party will kick off its official “yes” campaign this weekend for the constitutional changes to switch to the presidential system. The referendum scheduled for April 16 represents the culmin..Read more