by Martin Aslan On the international stage, Türkiye stands out as a unique country due to its political paradoxes. It is a NATO member, yet it purchases weapons from Russia. It is the only country in the world able to apply for membership of the European Union (EU) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at the same time, the latter being an institution created by China. It does so while asserting its commitment to defending Turkish peoples, including the persecuted Uighurs in China. Above all, Türkiye achieves a tour de force by sheltering Hamas while getting closer to Israel, thus reaching the height of contradictions. What do these contradictions mean? On what policy are they based? Do they really serve Türkiye's interests? Türkiye and NATO Ankara joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952 in the context of the Cold War. Indeed, the gateway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean through the straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles put Türki...