

The Reordering of Global Trade
The latest ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization ended not with compromise, but with drift. No agreement on e-commerce tariffs. No meaningful progress on institutional reform. What should have been a forum for coordination instead became a reflection of fragmentation. It was, in many ways, a fitting conclusion to a decade that has steadily eroded the foundations of the global trading system. A Decade of Disruption The unraveling unfolded through a sequence of s
Arda Tunca
3 days ago6 min read


The Illusion of Power
" A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will ." Such language does not belong to deterrence or negotiation. It belongs to total destruction. Presidents, leaders, and states may have deep and serious conflicts with one another, but the idea of wiping out an entire civilization falls into a category that can only be described as massacre. This war is increasingly being interpreted as a crusade . When
Arda Tunca
Apr 83 min read


China as a Civilization-State
Introduction China represents the only major civilization whose cultural foundations extend roughly five millennia into the past, whose written historical record spans more than three millennia, and whose state institutions have exhibited recognizable continuity since the imperial unification of 221 BCE. While the political form of the Chinese state has repeatedly disintegrated and reconstituted itself across more than two millennia, the underlying civilizational framework—it
Arda Tunca
Apr 428 min read


Iran, Chokepoints, and the New Logic of Leverage
A war intended to weaken Iran is instead changing how power operates in the region. The current conflict in the Middle East is widely framed as an effort to weaken Iran. Yet the emerging evidence points in a different direction. The war is reshaping the structure of power in the region. It is not strengthening Iran in a conventional sense. It is increasing its leverage within a system that has become highly sensitive to disruption. Power is often understood in terms of milita
Arda Tunca
Apr 13 min read


The Silent Collapse of Cultural Heritage: A Day in Bodrum
I went to Bodrum Castle . I wanted to find out how long a stone on which I had written an article would remain on display. Inside the castle, there was a poster stating that the exhibition titled “ Inflation and Purchasing Power in Antiquity ” would end on December 21, 2026. Therefore, my question was simple but important: Was this stone part of the exhibition, and would it be removed along with it? The search for an answer revealed a situation far more striking than the que
Arda Tunca
Apr 13 min read









