Contending with authoritarian Turkey – a measured realist perspective
This obsession with personalities can fuel the very passions and tensions that such individuals feed on, and obscure the underlying factors that explain their rise... Read More
Erdogan’s war on women
Kurdish women in one of the strongest and most radical women’s movements in the world are taking a battering from the Turkish state with impunity... Read More
Is it over for Turkish democracy? Implications for regional peace
As the Erdogan government presses for a more authoritarian regime and curtails civil freedoms at home, Turkish foreign policy takes an increasingly hawkish direction. Turkey’s democracy... Read More
Turkey and the PKK – mutual violence is not the answer
It is time for Erdogan to accept the reality that the solution to the Kurdish problem rests solely on peace negotiations. Anything short of that... Read More
Turkey’s elected dictator
Whereas Erdogan viewed the failed coup as a God-sent opportunity to wipe out whoever is perceived to be his enemy, the US and the EU... Read More
Is Turkey’s failed coup an opportunity to reinvigorate peace talks?
The post-coup political environment could provide a ripe moment to reinstate the peace talks between Ankara and the Kurdish movement.
Goodbye Mr. Zero Problems – the end of the Davutoglu era in Turkish foreign policy
The Davutoglu-era will be remembered as a missed opportunity in Turkish foreign policy. Expectations exceeded the political capacity of an emerging power to the point... Read More
How Turkey became a de facto dictatorship
The Turkish people should once again take to the streets but this time around they should remain persistent until Erdogan relents or resigns. Otherwise, Turkey... Read More
Prospects for a future Kurdistan
A future independent Kurdish state faces many political, economic, and administrative challenges, but its success could be a game-changer in the Middle East.
Turkey’s Balkan politics
The accession of Western Balkan countries to the European Union will be among the principal preoccupations of Turkish foreign policy in the upcoming years.
Can Cairo and Ankara turn a new leaf?
Egyptian-Turkish relations have been soured for some time. While there are no signs of rapprochement on either side, the cycle of dispute should end amid... Read More
Turkey’s Kurdish peace process – part 3
The DDR roadmap that is expected to take shape by October will be the result of a tough negotiation process that will need to address the... Read More
Turkey’s Kurdish peace process – framework law – part 2
The framework law officially bestows the Turkish government with the responsibility of introducing necessary reforms that address challenges in the social, political, psychological and educational... Read More
Turkey’s Kurdish peace process: dead end – part 1
Turkey is gearing up for Presidential elections in August, and the Kurdish vote might determine the next president of Turkey.
Local elections in Turkey – on the verge of polarization and cohesion
In Turkey, large scale citizen mobilization in defense of votes in the recent local elections shows the government’s loss of credibility and trust in the... Read More
Discovering the commons in Turkey – conflict as a means of transcending societal divides
The Gezi events showed that new social movements have a significant potential to act as a forum for dialogue and unite different segments of the... Read More
Discovering the commons in Turkey – new media, social movements and social cohesion
The Resistance has been a turning point in enabling society to develop a new understanding of itself: as a society that is open to all.... Read More
What do the local election results whisper about the future of Turkish democracy?
Local election results confirmed that Turkey is going through a belated, yet organic democratic transition. In absence of Turkish military’s looming shadow, the liberals and... Read More
Turkey on the road to change
With internal crises mounting, Turkey’s ruling party appears to have no choice but to negotiate with its opponents or risk eventual defeat.
Turkey’s rapprochement with Iraqi Kurdistan – an obstacle to the Kurdish peace process?
The decision by Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to pursue rapprochement with the president of Iraqi Kurdistan could prove a profound obstacle to the Kurdish... Read More
Taksim revisited
The protests constitute an alarm call for both government and opposition. They should bring home to the AKP the realization that Turkish democracy, all its... Read More
Taksim – a protest like no other
The messages conveyed by the popularity of the AKP and the vibrancy of the ongoing protests are unambiguous: the contradictions of Turkish society call, not... Read More
Between agitation and victimization – is Erdogan still a winner after Gezi park?
Erdogan’s lack of anger management might not only cost him the presidency but also damage Turkey’s growth projections in an increasingly volatile region. His last... Read More
Politics and the city – the battle over Istanbul’s Gezi park
After a week of protests and police brutality, a group representing the Gezi Park Solidarity met with government officials in Ankara and handed in a... Read More
Turkey’s future in Europe
With a relative thaw in relations between Ankara and Paris on EU accession, prospects look better for Turkey’s EU membership, though significant challenges remain.