Posted on Thu, June 11, 2015 at 18:53 pm CEST
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Post-Election Turkey: Now What?

No one among Turkey’s politicians wants an early election… Read more

Topics: Democracy • Kurdish People • Politics • Turkey 
Posted on Thu, August 21, 2014 at 00:55 am CEST
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Profile of the IHH

IHH’s double identity… Continue reading

Topics: Anti-Israelism • Anti-Semitism • Anti-Zionism • Funding Islamic Terrorism • Gaza and Westbank • Gaza Flotillas and Convoys • Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center • Pro-Palestinianism • Turkey 
Posted on Tue, February 19, 2013 at 00:35 am CET
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Turkey and Tehran: A Cold Peace

The Turkish-Iranian relationship is primed for problems due to differing geopolitical and sectarian interests… Continue reading

Topics: Diplomacy • Iran • Iraq • Syrian Revolution • Turkey 
Posted on Mon, February 18, 2013 at 01:29 am CET
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Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Turkey’s Internal Power Struggle

Reining in the Gülenists can be seen as a welcome development, but it will also consolidate Erdoğan’s already alarming monopolization of power… Continue reading

Topics: Ergenekon • Politics • Turkey 
Posted on Mon, February 4, 2013 at 02:40 am CET
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How Serious is Erdogan about Joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Instead of the EU?

Erdoğan is not going to initiate a divorce from the EU, but he may very well hope that the Europeans will “relieve” Turkey… Continue reading

Topics: China • Economy • Europe • Kazakhstan • Kyrgyzstan • Russian Federation • Turkey 
Posted on Fri, February 1, 2013 at 21:00 pm CET
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Turkish-Kurdistan Energy Relations: An Assessment

Much is made of the grand strategy of the Turkish-Kurdish energy puzzle… Continue reading

Topics: Energy • Iraq • Iraqi Kurdistan • Kurdish People • Turkey 
Posted on Tue, January 29, 2013 at 20:42 pm CET
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U.S. Intelligence Writes Turkey’s Future

U.S. intelligence community ponders the impact of Turkey’s growing significance in global affairs… Continue reading

Topics: Diplomacy • Economy • NATO • Turkey • U.S. Middle East Policy 
Posted on Sun, January 27, 2013 at 20:03 pm CET
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The AKP’s New Dialogue with Öcalan: A Process but Which Process?

The AKP is conducting a “psychological war” rather than sincerely trying to solve the Kurdish Issue… Continue reading

Topics: Iraqi Kurdistan • Kurdish People • PKK • Syrian Kurdistan • Turkey • Turkish Kurdistan 
Posted on Mon, December 31, 2012 at 00:57 am CET
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The End of Taraf: The Liberals Have Outlived their Usefulness for the AKP

The mood among the few remaining, scattered liberal voices in the Turkish media landscape is gloomy as critical expression in Turkey is being systematically narrowed… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Islamism • Neo-Ottomanism • The Media • Turkey 
Posted on Wed, December 26, 2012 at 00:30 am CET
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Turkish-Israeli Relations: Is Normalization Possible?

On November 26, 2012, several newspapers reported that Israel and Turkey had resumed reconciliation talks between senior officials, marking a profound change since the low-point in relations occurred in the aftermath of the Gaza aid flotilla in 2010… Continue reading

Topics: Anti-Israelism • Diplomacy • Israel • Turkey 
Posted on Thu, December 20, 2012 at 20:55 pm CET
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Fighting Blind: The AKP’s Increasingly Hardline Kurdish Policy

Even if the Turkish military wins every battle against the PKK, an even more dangerous war is being lost… Continue reading

Topics: Kurdish People • PKK • Security and Defense • Syrian Kurdistan • Turkey • Turkish Kurdistan 
Posted on Sun, December 9, 2012 at 21:57 pm CET
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Erdogan’s Volatile Authoritarianism: Tactical Ploy or Strategic Vision?

In recent months, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made a string of highly controversial public statements which appear indicative of an authoritarian mindset… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Neo-Ottomanism • Politics • Religion • Turkey 
Posted on Tue, November 27, 2012 at 00:01 am CET
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Contemporary Kemalist Intellectuals: Europeanizers Against Europe?

During the last decades, Kemalism, the modernization ideology of the Republic of Turkey, has been vehemently criticized… Continue reading

Topics: Culture • Democracy • History • Religion • Turkey 
Posted on Mon, November 26, 2012 at 23:21 pm CET
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Breaking Anchor: Turkey’s Disappearing EU Accession Process

The European Commission issued its most critical report on Turkey’s progress towards meeting the criteria for EU membership since accession negotiations were formally inaugurated in 2005… Continue reading

Topics: Anti-Westernism • Diplomacy • Europe • Neo-Ottomanism • Turkey 
Posted on Mon, November 19, 2012 at 00:57 am CET
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Erdogan’s Way – Confrontation at Home and Abroad – May be Backfiring

Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party has been well served by the confrontational style of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan… Continue reading

Topics: Diplomacy • Kurdish People • Politics • Turkey 
Posted on Sat, October 27, 2012 at 17:10 pm CEST
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Bluff and Bravado: Turkey’s Long Presidential Campaign

President Abdullah Gül criticized the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan for its failure to push ahead with Turkey’s bid for EU membership and protested the continuing imprisonment of seven elected opposition members of the assembly… Continue reading

Topics: Politics • Turkey 
Posted on Mon, October 8, 2012 at 15:41 pm CEST
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Turkey-Azerbaijan Summit Consummates Reconciliation

Turkish-Azerbaijani relations have been on the rebound in recent months since the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation effort has effectively collapsed over differences… Continue reading

Topics: Armenia • Azerbaijan • Diplomacy • Economy • Energy • Politics • Turkey 
Posted on Mon, October 8, 2012 at 15:01 pm CEST
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What the Sledgehammer Sentence Mean

The sentences in the Sledgehammer trial demonstrate the subjugation of the military to civilian, democratic, legal authority… Continue reading

Topics: Human Rights • Turkey 
Posted on Fri, July 6, 2012 at 16:54 pm CEST
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Erdogan’s Invitation to Gülen: Reconciliation or Power Play?

On June 14, 2012, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly invited Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the powerful Gülen Movement, to return to Turkey from self-imposed exile in the United States… Continue reading

Topics: Islamism • Politics • Religion • Turkey 
Posted on Thu, June 21, 2012 at 14:55 pm CEST
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Reverting to His Roots

It is becoming increasingly obvious that Turkey’ ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is reverting to its Islamist roots… Continue reading

Topics: Islamism • Neo-Ottomanism • Religion • Turkey 
Posted on Thu, June 7, 2012 at 19:32 pm CEST
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This Week, Turkey Went a Long Way Toward Becoming an Islamic Republic

Hardly surprising, deeply upsetting, and geostrategically catastrophic, it’s official. Turkey has now passed over towards being an Islamist state… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Human Rights • Islamism • Turkey 
Posted on Mon, June 4, 2012 at 20:08 pm CEST
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Is the AKP Creating the Conditions for a Counter-Force to Emerge?

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party is demonstrating an unwillingness to leave any room in society to those who are not its supporters… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Economy • Human Rights • Turkey 
Posted on Sun, May 20, 2012 at 16:29 pm CEST
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The Middle East: Brave New World or Scary New Master?

If you want a sense of where the Middle East is going, consider this viewpoint from an unlikely source… Continue reading

Topics: Culture • Islamism • Religion • Shi'ism • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • The Middle East • Wahhabism 
Posted on Fri, May 18, 2012 at 17:11 pm CEST
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Turkey-Iraq Relations: From Bad to Worse

Relations between the governments of Iraq and Turkey continue to deteriorate… Continue reading

Topics: Diplomacy • Iraq • Iraqi Kurdistan • Neo-Ottomanism • Politics • Shia Islam • Sunni Islam • Turkey 
Posted on Thu, May 17, 2012 at 19:42 pm CEST
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Turkey’s Middle East Policy of Seeking To Gobble, Gobble Up the Middle East Makes Enemies of Everyone

Countries may vary, but civilization is one, and for a nation to progress, it must take part in this one civilization… Continue reading

Topics: Neo-Ottomanism • Politics • Religion • Turkey • U.S. Middle East Policy