Global Political Trends Center (GPoT Center) is a non-profit, non-partisan research institution established under the auspices of Istanbul Kültür University in Turkey in 2009. GPoT Center works on issues concerning not only Turkish foreign policy but also the current international agenda. The Center’s international staff conducts a wide range of innovative projects that seek to support reconciliation through dialogue and informed debate. GPoT Center is in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2013. A handy brochure explaining the mission and works of GPoT Center is available in pdf format here.

OUR MISSION

GPoT Center was established with the aim to support reconciliation and non-violent solutions to international as well as domestic issues through dialogue. Our mission is to contribute to stability, democratization and peace through organizing multi-track diplomacy meetings, conducting innovative and independent research, and encouraging informed debates in the media on key issues affecting Turkey and the world.

GPoT Center serves as a platform for the free exchange of views and information on political, social and economic matters concerning a variety of parties and segments of society. We aim to achieve our mission by routinely bringing together opinion leaders, government officials, policy makers, analysts, scholars, experts and members of the media from Turkey and abroad.

WHAT WE DO

GPoT Center has become one of the most active Turkish think tanks in a short amount of time. Our activities are structured around region-specific programs and ad-hoc events.

A) Region-Specific Programs

Armenia

We implement a number of large-scale projects aiming to support the rapprochement process between Turkey and Armenia on the political and grass-roots levels by establishing and deepening contacts between the two countries’ civil societies, experts, youth and media.

Cyprus

In addition to conducting research, we regularly organize second-track diplomacy meetings, known as the “Heybeliada Talks,” for opinion leaders from both sides of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey to discuss issues pertaining to the solution of the Cyprus question. Our efforts on this issue have been commended by the Secretary General of the UN.

Europe

We have organized a variety of roundtable meetings aiming to open public debate on topics concerning Europe, including EU-Turkey relations, the Visegrad Four, the EU economic crisis and the Euro-Mediterranean region, among others.

Israel

In addition to research on Israel-Turkey relations, activities conducted under this program are intended to shed light on the regional and political dynamics of the Arab-Israeli conflict and Israel’s bilateral relations with other countries.

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Our activities within this program aim to contribute to the establishment of a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone and to support democratization, women’s rights and stability in the region. We also regularly hold Policy Talks on current MENA issues with the participation of the GPoT High Advisory Board, whose members include former ambassadors and state officials.

Transatlantic Relations

GPoT Center organizes lectures, commissions research and hosts study groups in order to support Transatlantic relations, particularly between Turkey, the United States and NATO.

B) Ad-hoc Events

In addition to its region-specific programs, GPoT Center serves as a platform for the exchange of creative ideas, organizing expert roundtables on pressing issues in international politics, book launches, academic visits for international students, and informed debates with the participation of media.

OUR PUBLICATIONS

Our publications feature academic and coffee-table books on issues in international relations; insightful Policy Briefs by global experts; concise Briefs and Op-Eds; Policy Updates providing general background to specific IR-topics; and Meeting Reports with recommendations generated from selected GPoT Center-organized roundtables and conferences.

Our publications can be downloaded from our website for free. They are also accessible through online libraries worldwide, such as the International Relations and Security Network in Zurich, Europe’s World in Brussels, and Columbia University Press in New York. Additionally, you can find our books on Google Books and Amazon Kindle.

OUR PARTNERS & NETWORKS

We have a successful history of cooperation on short-term as well as long-term projects with international partner organizations based in Europe, North America, the broader Middle East and North Africa region, and the Caucasus.

We are part of the following networks:

• Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures, Egypt
• Cercle Prospectif de la Méditerranée (CPM), France
• Civil Security Network for Human Security, Netherlands
• Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission (EuroMeSCo), Spain
• Europe’s World, Belgium
• Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Netherlands
• International Relations and Security Network (ISN), Switzerland
• Policy Association for an Open Society (PASOS), Czech Republic
• Regional Partnership on Culture and Development, Egypt
• United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), USA
• United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, USA

Our partners and organizations with whom we work include the following:

• Albert Schweitzer Institute of the Quinnipiac University, USA
• Arab Democracy Foundation (ADF), Qatar
• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA
• Centre for Arab Unity Studies (CAUS), Lebanon
• DemosEUROPA: Centre for European Strategy Foundation, Poland
• Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF), Armenia
• Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), Turkey
• Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNS), Turkey
• Institute for European Policy (EUROPEUM), Czech Republic
• Internews, USA
• International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), USA
• London School of Economics (LSE), United Kingdom
• Open Society Foundation (OSI), Turkey
• Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA), Slovakia
• Soros Foundation, Moldova
• The Danish European Movement, Denmark
• The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies (MITVIM), Israel
• Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, Israel
• Yerevan Press Club (YPC), Armenia