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Geopolitics

Nobel Peace Prize Awarded To European Union

NOBELPRIZE.ORG (Norway), TWITTER

Worldcrunch

OSLO - The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the European Union for having "contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe" for more than six decades, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced.

Thorbjørn Jagland, head of the Oslo-based Nobel Committee, said the EU was being recognized for its efforts to promote peace and democracy in the midst of the Union's biggest crisis since its creation.

Jagland also cited Europe’s role in bringing France and Germany closer together, saying that "the stabilizing part played by the European Union has helped to transform a once torn Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace."

Read the full statement here.

The decision has drawn mixed reactions among social media users, with Twitter buzzing with both praise and mockery:

It is a great honour for the whole of the #EU, all 500 million citizens, to be awarded the 2012 #Nobel Peace prize.

— Jose Manuel Barroso (@BarrosoEU) October 12, 2012

I suppose could have been even sillier: they could have awarded EU the Nobel for economics #saynotonobel

— Benedict Brogan (@benedictbrogan) October 12, 2012

Next year, the Nobel peace prize will be awarded to planet earth for not self-imploding #NobelPeacePrize

— Asma I. AbdulMalik(@AsmaIMalik) October 12, 2012

Given the recent Peace Prize winners, one has to wonder if the Nobel committee has redefined the word "Peace" & just not told the world yet

— Mohamed Nanabhay (@mohamed) October 12, 2012

I hope the Nobel committee wins the Nobel next year for promoting peace.

— Haryana ka lathhmaar (@YearOfRat) October 12, 2012

Since 1901, 92 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded. In the words of inventor Alfred Nobel, the Peace Prize is to be given to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

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Geopolitics

How Turkey's Jumbled Opposition Bloc Can Take Erdogan Down

Turkey heads to the polls in May, with a newly formed opposition bloc hoping to dislodge President Tayyip Recep Erdogan. Despite some party infighting, many remain hopeful they can bring an end to Erdogan's 20 years in power. But first, clarity from within a complicated coalition is needed.

Photo of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey

Bekir Ağırdır

-Analysis-

ISTANBUL — Turkey was hit by a political earthquake recently, at the same time that we were mourning the victims of the actual earthquakes. It was a crisis triggered among the main opposition coalition, the so-called “ the table of six,” by the inner dynamics of the nationalist Good Party (IYI) that resulted in a renewed understanding among the rearranged table.

The six-party coalition has been set up to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “one-man rule” and is looking to dislodge him after 20 years in power in the country’s upcoming national elections scheduled on May 14.

I am not a fan of analyses based on a who-said-or-did-what perspective, nor those focusing on the actors themselves either. I won’t attempt to analyze the political actors unless the daily agenda forces me to. They are not my priority: the condition of our society and our political system are what matters to me.

We were all told to follow the tabloid version of the story, articles based on hot gossip and anonymous statements full of conspiracy theories about the disagreements of the table of six, and the question of who would run against Erdoğan.

The truth is that there were three crises in one. The first is what we call the political crisis, which is actually shortcomings in collaboration and taking control of the process. The second is the structural problems of the political parties. And the third is the gap between politics and the vital needs of the society.

From day one, there were shortcomings in the general functioning of the table of the six — in their ability to act together in critical situations and, more importantly, in their ability to take control of the process. There were clues for these in recent times, such as the different stances the opposition parties took for the issue of providing constitutional protection for the headscarf.

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