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 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 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 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, May 10, 2012 at 21:12 pm CEST
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Values and Identity: The Resurgence of the Kurdish Hizbullah

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the center of Diyarbakır for a celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birth. The event was organized by a coalition of NGOs affiliated with the radical Sunni Islamist organization known in Turkey as Hizbullah… Continue reading

Topics: Islamic Fundamentalism • Kurdish People • PKK • Security and Defense • Sunni Islam • Turkey • Turkish Kurdistan 
Posted on Sun, April 8, 2012 at 11:48 am CEST
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Reinventing a Broken Wheel: The AKP’s ‘New’ Kurdish Strategy

On 21 March 2012, Turkish government officials began briefing trusted journalists on what they described as the new strategy of the ruling AKP for solving the country’s long-running Kurdish problem… Continue reading

Topics: History • Kurdish People • Kurdistan • PKK • Security and Defense • Turkey 
Posted on Thu, December 22, 2011 at 19:55 pm CET
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Has Erdogan Reached His “Democratic Limits”?

Internal and external dynamics no longer compel Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to transcend his democratic limits… Continue reading

Topics: Islamism • Kurdish People • Politics • Sunni Islam • Turkey • Turkish Kurdistan 
Posted on Fri, November 11, 2011 at 23:23 pm CET
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The Latest KCK Arrests: One Step Closer to Breaking Point

The AKP is using the KCK investigation as an instrument to try to crush all opposition to its increasingly hawkish policies on the Kurdish issue… Continue reading

Topics: Kurdish People • PKK • Turkey • Turkish Kurdistan 
Posted on Fri, November 4, 2011 at 00:27 am CET
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Turkey’s Anti-PKK Operation Faces Major Obstacles

The Turkish government has now responded with one of its largest counterinsurgency operations in years… Continue reading

Topics: Counter-terrorism • Kurdish People • PKK • Security and Defense • Turkey • Turkish Kurdistan 
Posted on Sat, October 15, 2011 at 23:22 pm CEST
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Turkey’s New Constitution: a Last Chance to Solve the Kurdish Issue?

There has long been a broad consensus that Turkey’s current constitution needs to be replaced… Continue reading

Topics: Kurdish People • PKK • Turkey 
Posted on Sun, October 2, 2011 at 00:41 am CEST
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The Secret MIT-PKK Talks: Was a Turkish-Kurdish Peace Accord Ever Close?

The effort to explore a peaceful solution was doomed because ultimately the ruling AKP has not disengaged from Turkish state tradition… Continue reading

Topics: Kurdish People • PKK • Turkey 
Posted on Sun, September 4, 2011 at 20:07 pm CEST
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Erdogan’s War: Will Turkey’s Most Powerful Leader Since Ataturk Succeed in Securing the Country’s Unity?

Attacks carried out by Kurdish separatists since mid-July have set Turkey on the road to war… Continue reading

Topics: Kurdish People • Neo-Ottomanism • PKK • Turkey • Turkish Kurdistan 
Posted on Sat, August 20, 2011 at 20:23 pm CEST
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Turkey and Syria: a Parting of Ways

The turmoil in Syria threatens to deprive Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party of one of its most significant foreign policy achievements… Continue reading

Topics: Arab Spring • Economy • Iran • Kurdish People • PKK • Security and Defense • Syria • Syrian Kurdistan • Turkey • Turkish Kurdistan 
Posted on Wed, July 6, 2011 at 22:56 pm CEST
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Turkey’s “First Christian”

Amidst news of Turkey’s political turmoil — a parliamentary boycott led by the main opposition party has overshadowed… Continue reading

Topics: Christianity • Global Islam • Turkey 
Posted on Fri, July 1, 2011 at 09:21 am CEST
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Tough Times Ahead in Search of Turkey’s New Soul

Polarizing the society over religious and cultural identities has been the power tactic of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) almost all along… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Islamism • Kurdish People • Turkey 
Posted on Thu, June 30, 2011 at 00:26 am CEST
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Fading Hopes, Rising Demands: Kurdish Problem Moves Closer To the Point of No Return

In the general election of June 12, 2011, candidates backed by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) won 36 seats in Turkey… Continue reading

Topics: Kurdish People • PKK • Turkey 
Posted on Sat, June 18, 2011 at 00:27 am CEST
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A Divisive Campaign in a Polarized Turkey

The June 12 general election was historic as it was the first general election in Turkey over which the shadow of the military… Continue reading

Topics: Islamism • Kurdish People • Turkey 
Posted on Tue, June 14, 2011 at 00:26 am CEST
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The Outcome of the Turkish Election: Exclusive Report From Istanbul

This assessment is a bit more optimistic than mine, suggesting ways to limit the new government’s power… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Islamism • Turkey 
Posted on Sat, June 11, 2011 at 21:18 pm CEST
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Turkey’s June 12 Elections

This Sunday, Turks go to the polls for parliamentary elections that will determine their next government… Continue reading

Topics: Europe • Islamism • Turkey • United States of America 
Posted on Sun, May 22, 2011 at 01:14 am CEST
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Is the AKP that “Vanquished” the Military Caught in the Trap of Militarism?

There is a grim irony to the fact that while the AKP’s 2007 victory represented a defeat for the military, victory four years later requires… Continue reading

Topics: Kurdish People • Neo-Ottomanism • PKK • Turkey 
Posted on Fri, April 22, 2011 at 21:03 pm CEST
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The Nominations of Candidates for the June General Election: A Choice Between Status Quo and Renewal

The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) choice of candidates to the general election in June reflect a desire to entrench the power base… Continue reading

Topics: Democracy • Ergenekon • Kurdish People • Turkey 
Posted on Sat, March 12, 2011 at 01:17 am CET
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Squaring the Circle: The PKK Return to Violence and Turkey’s Intractable Kurdish Problem

On February 28, 2011, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced that it was abrogating its unilateral ceasefire first declared on… Continue reading

Topics: Kurdish People • PKK • Turkey 
Posted on Wed, September 22, 2010 at 22:10 pm CEST
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Torn Turkey, European Turkey

Sam Huntington was right to consider Turkey his chief example of a “torn country.” The results of the Sept. 12 vote on the constitutional amendments proposed by the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party, or AKP, show that officially secular Turkey is torn not just between the East and the West, but that it is also divided… Continue reading

Topics: Europe • Global Islam • Islamism • Turkey