The term “turbulence” is increasingly being used with respect to Turkish domestic and foreign policy as well as developments around Turkey’s neighborhood, ranging from Ukraine to the post-Arab Spring Middle East. Today, the turbulence that Turkey faces might have some repercussions on its neighbors. Turkey’s interests with its Transatlantic Partners may have started to converge more over the past years, revealing Turkey to be more and more on the same page as the U.S. and the EU as their relationships are appearing to be entering in a more positive period.

Before joining Brookings, Kirişci was a professor of international relations and held the Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. His areas of research interest include EU-Turkish relations, Turkish foreign policy, European integration, asylum, border management, and immigration issues in the European Union, ethnic conflicts, and refugee movements.

Making sense of Saudi Arabia is crucially important today. The kingdom's western province contains the heart of Islam, its two holiest mosques in Mecca and Medina, and it is the United States' closest Arab ally and the largest producer of oil in the world. However, the country is undergoing rapid change: its aged leadership is ceding power to a new generation, and its society, which is dominated by young people, is restive. Saudi Arabia has long remained closed to foreign scholars, with a select few academics allowed into the kingdom over the past decade. In his latest book published in 2014, Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change, Bernard Haykel examines the different sectors of Saudi society and how the past few decades have affected each.

In a world of financial advice noise, Clark Winter stands virtually alone as a source of acumen. It is one of the reasons why Ian Bremmer, Chairman and CEO of the Eurasia Group, calls Clark “one of Wall Street's most insightful and honest intellectual brokers." “Clark Winter has given us the tools to unlock some of the closed doors of the economic banks” says Mario Diaz-Cruz, Chairman, Spain-U.S. Chamber of commerce.

Clark Winter is the founder and chief global strategist at Clark Winter Enterprises, a global investment research and strategy firm. He is an internationally known investor and commentator on geopolitics and global financial markets. His research and analysis helps investors understand and harness the multitude of forces at work in today's complicated, confusing, and promising global economy.

The internet has become the 21st century war zone. President Obama has declared that cyber threats are one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation and that “America’s economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity.”

Dr. Adam Segal will talk to Network 20/20 about what the United States is doing to protect itself from cyberattacks. He will also address today’s complicated US-China relations, and how the illicit transfer of intellectual property has become a contentious issue between these two countries. This is perhaps the biggest hurdle to overcome if we are to reach an agreement on what to do before the threat becomes a problem of systemic proportions.

Trying to lure global investors back to a market frozen by a currency slump and international sanctions, Russian banks are now selling ruble-denominated Eurobonds. While unprecedented stimulus by the European Central Bank will start to take effect in coming months, weak growth in Germany and France and rising tensions in Ukraine threaten the Eurozone's modest revival as the 18-nation economy expanded by only 0.2 percent in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania (all NATO members) are preparing to hit back, after repeated incidents of Russian airplanes violating European Union countries’ airspace. They believe Russia is shutting itself off from the West. Internally, Europe has to come to terms with a gaping hole in its policy response due to its unwillingness to reduce excessive levels of corporate, bank, and sovereign debt accrued during the global financial crisis and its aftermath.

The importance of China’s economic presence is indisputable. With its impressive growth during these two past decades, China is becoming one of the most powerful countries and could, in couple of years, be more powerful than the United States, economically. In her November/December Foreign Affairs article, China’s Imperial President Xi Jinping Tightens His Grip, Dr. Elizabeth Economy explores how Xi Jinping is changing China’s development. Xi Jinping assumed power at a moment when China was politically adrift; he articulated a simple but powerful vision: the end of corruption and the rejuvenation of the nation. With this vision and his reforms, if successful, Xi would, in fact, revolutionize China. This would have a huge impact on the rest of the world. In the mean time, the U.S. and the rest of the world cannot afford to wait until Xi’s reforms play out. Dr. Economy believes that the U.S. should embrace Xi’s initiatives as opportunities for an international collaboration. 

Seventeen years after its handover from the United Kingdom to China, Hong Kong fears for its future. The constitutional principle of “one country, two systems” has been dangerously threatened by the release of “the white paper” in June 2014 – a strongly worded policy paper in which Beijing claimed ultimate authority over Hong Kong. Its advantages over China – having an independent legal system, efficient bureaucracy, and a comparatively open economy – seem to be at risk more than ever before. Rick Hornik will talk about what to expect from the mainland’s policy towards Britain’s former colony, and if Hong Kong residents should expect a free and open election  in 2017, as promised.

Ambassador Mousavian will address 3 main topics. First, the detente between Iran and the United States which due to their legacy of mutual mistrust is a delicate and complex situation. Second, an update on the nuclear talks and their November 24 deadline where a final agreement has yet to be reached, and third, the regional challenges in the greater Middle East today.

Ambassador Mousavian will discuss the recent cautious cooperation among Americans and Iranians on a few common strategic objectives including combatting ISIL and stabilizing Afghanistan.  

Expanding urban populations, decades of neglect and rising national incomes are driving new demands for transport, water, and electric power infrastructure projects in many emerging markets. Countries such as Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Peru, South Africa and Turkey offer attractive business opportunities for investing. Steven Fox argues that an in-depth understanding of political dynamics and engagement with a broad array of stakeholders is a key to successful investments. He will discuss the importance of managing political positioning, addressing community opposition, and limiting corruption risk.  By highlighting the importance of understanding the political dimensions, monitoring and doing targeted intelligence gathering it is possible to assess the potential vulnerabilities of a large scale investment in emerging markets. 

After a decade of strong growth, the region faces a troubling combination of decelerating economies and rising social expectations. With seven out of 19 Latin American countries holding presidential elections in 2014, this year is monumental for shaping the course of Latin America’s political future. The results of these seven electoral processes confirm both their inherent importance for national situations and the political tendencies prevailing in this region: change (Costa Rica and Panama), continuity (Colombia, El Salvador and Bolivia) and uncertainty and volatility (Brazil and Uruguay). The governments elected during the present electoral cycle will have to meet the expectations and demands of citizens with fewer resources. Ambassador Valdés will talk about how these governments will respond and what the implications are for social, economic, trade and foreign policies in Latin America. 

In his new book, The Shifts and the Shocks: What We’ve Learned—and Have Still to Learn—from the Financial Crisis, Martin Wolf gives a complete account of what the 2007-08 financial crisis should teach us about modern economies and economics. In it he identifies the origin of the crisis in the complex interaction between globalization, hugely destabilizing global imbalances, and our dangerously fragile financial system.  Wolf continues to explain with great clarity why “further crises seem certain” and why the management of the Eurozone in particular “guarantees a huge political crisis at some point in the future.”  The Shifts and the Shocks matches impressive analysis with no-holds-barred criticism and persuasive prescription for a more stable future. 

India and China are longtime adversaries; India considers China as the principal threat for its national security. Rajan Menon will talk to Network 20/20 about Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi’s strategy towards China. He says that Prime Minister Modi, who was elected this year, will seek to expand economic ties with Japan, Europe, South Korea and the US. He will also look to modernize India’s military forces, continue New Delhi’s “Look East” policy, which seeks to forge economic and security ties with East Asian countries and revive the momentum for an Indian-US strategic partnership.

The plan was to repair the damage of the Bush years, isolate jihadists in a democratizing Middle East, develop a new relationship with Iran, build a businesslike relationship with Russia, and pacify East Asia. However, President Obama’s foreign policy track record shows more failures than successes. His goals have always been high and difficult, but he hasn’t wanted to invest the political, financial, or military resources that such large goals require. Walter Russell Mead will give an overview of the White House’s scorecard on its foreign policy – whether the US president must either dial back his idealism or dial back on his promises to pull the United States back from the global front lines.