Turkey

South Stream always seemed a precarious project; Europe may still get its gas -- but via Turkey

EU Christian Democrats in particular find AKP's aggressive Muslim stance a barrier to membership

Signs have yet to appear of any meaningful opposition to Erdogan's imposition of his own values and goals on society

The brunt of proposed law-and-order changes will probably bear down on opposition groups in metropolitan western Turkey

Slow training of Syrian rebels will require reliance on Kurdish fighters, straining US-Turkish ties

Interethnic tensions and the Syria crisis may bring political instability, as GDP growth fails to hit previous highs

An increasingly arrogant Erdogan may find his popularity ebbing away as the Kurds become restive and the economy falters

The fight against Islamic State is easing tensions between the Kurds of Iraq and Syria