Reading links

I have earlier mentioned the lack of information on the Israeli September strike in northern Syria. As I predicted, a few more details and a sort of context has grown out in time, but still more is obscure than not.

More in focus this week is the debate and decision on Turkey on how to pursue the fight against terrorism and the PKK in northern Iraq. Here is a selection of articles over the last week or so: BBC last week, Asia Times a few days ago,

A discussion, also from Asia Times, on Turkey's relations with neighbouring peoples Kurds and Armenians.

In Turkey, a referendum has shown that a large number of the Turkish voters want to see real change in the way the president and the parliament are elcted and their mandates. Here it is reported by Swedish radio. MERIA here has an analysis of the Turkish elections in July.

Aftonbladets Johanne Hildebrandt continues her reporting from Iraq, now in web-tv special reports.

In Israel, over the last decade, the climate against a recognition of Palestinian claims has hardened, to the extent that intellectuals previously at the forefront of revising the general picture of Israel's was of independence and the Palestinian "nakba". Here is a Dagens Nyheter-interview with historian Benny Morris.

A look into the world of Iranian women is offered by this BBC-article on "the fashion police" from early this year. Despite my belated publication, I want to highlight it.

An editorial from Gulf News on the challenges of education and innovation.

A documentary film following 3 young Swedish jihadists during a long period of time to try to understand the reasons for their choices of ideology has just opened. Here is a review from Svenska Dagbladet. Here is also an editorial in the same paper commenting on the film. Also the Swedish-language blog Pop the casbah has written on the topic.

The Brookings institution has recently released a report analysing democracy developments in the Arab Middle East. Quite interesting, not least the references. This book from the same institution caught my eye.

My last contribution today is also from Swedish radio, this time on US pressure on democracy development (or rather the lack of it!) in Egypt.