GPoT Center officially the Global Political Trends Center is a research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 unit, which was established by Mensur Akgun

Mensur Akgün

Mensur Akgün is a Turkish scholar, political analyst, columnist in Turkish daily Referans and civil society activist. Together with his colleague Sylvia Tiryaki he founded the Global Political Trends Center, an Istanbul based research institution, which is operating under the auspices of Istanbul...

 and Sylvia Tiryaki

Sylvia Tiryaki

Sylvia Tiryaki is a scholar, political analyst and civil society activist of Slovak origin, who founded the Global Political Trends Center with her colleague Mensur Akgun in 2008, a policy oriented research institution under the auspices of Istanbul Kültür University.Tiryaki was a regular columnist...

 at the Istanbul Kültür University

Istanbul Kültür University

- About İKÜ :İstanbul Kültür University is a private university located in İstanbul, Turkey. It has three campuses, Ataköy, Bahçelievler and İncirli. The University was founded in 1997 and has five schools and two vocational schools...

 in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 in 2008. The mission of the Center is to conduct research, projects, to produce innovative publication

Publication

To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...

s analyzing the latest issues in the international relations, to formulate viable political recommendations and to boost the dialogue between civil society

Civil society

Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...

, academia

Academia

Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...

 and media

Mass media

Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

.

Activities

GPoT Center, as one of the leading Turkish think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

s, runs project

Project

A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...

s in various areas and has organized numerous conferences

Meeting

In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....

, work-shops and round-table meetings focused on: the EU - Turkey relations, the Cyprus question, the Turkey - Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

 relations, Turkish - Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 dialogue, NATO, second track diplomacy

Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...

 between Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 and Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Arab-Israeli conflict and other issues related to the international agenda in general and the agenda of Turkish foreign policy

Foreign policy

A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...

 in particular.

The projects implemented by GPoT Center often involve participation of high-level politicians and opinion

Opinion

In general, an opinion is a subjective belief, and is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts. An opinion may be supported by an argument, although people may draw opposing opinions from the same set of facts. Opinions rarely change without new arguments being presented...

 makers, however the Center is also active in organization of second-track diplomacy meetings aiming at effective conflict solution. For the purposes of second-track diplomacy, GPoT Center brings together representatives of conflicting parties, i.e. civil society

Civil society

Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...

 activists, opinion leaders, as well as academics to discuss issues pertaining to solution of the relevant problem. The meetings are usually conducted in friendly atmosphere and under Chatam House rules.

Publications

The Center publishes various types of publications available in the electronic as well as printed form. It has published a number of policy

Policy

A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...

 briefs analyzing issues in international relations

International relations

International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

 and shorter essays, i.e. GPoT Briefs focusing on one topic from the current global issues. GPoT Center published its first two books on Cyprus issue in the summer 2009  and has since then published other books on developments in Cyprus, Israeli-Turkish relations, as well as democratization

Democratization

Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...

 of the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

.

Partners and Networks

The Center cooperates with institutions from Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 - SIIA, Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 - CAUS, Qatar

Qatar

Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...

 - ADF, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 - LSE, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 - EUROPEUM, Slovak Republic - SFPA, Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

 - EPF, YPC and Internews, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 - Ibn-Khaldun Center, and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 - ENS. GPoT Center is also part of larger research and academic networks such as the United Nations's Alliance of Civilizations

Alliance of Civilizations

The Alliance of Civilizations is an initiative proposed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, at the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005. It was co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan...

, International Research and Security Network, United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

' Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures.