Dr. Mehmet Gurses, Professor of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University, spoke on how Turkey, as the first Muslim-majority democracy, has been at the center of much controversy. Despite decades-long westernization efforts by the country’s secularist elite, Islamists have emerged as the new power holders and are increasingly consolidating their grip on power. The new Islamist political elites’ ambitious plans to re-emerge as a global power have shifted the political and military balance in the Middle East. Read more here.