Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
On Jan. 20, 1921, as the War of Independence was still being fought, the Grand National Assembly adopted a Constitution whose first article began: Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation (Hâkimiyet bilâ kaydü şart milletindir). On Oct. 29, 1923, the assembly added another sentence to that same article: The form of government of the Turkish state is the Republic (Türkiye Devletinin şekl-i hükûmeti Cumhuriyettir).
To get off the streets in the winter time and have access to food, a homeless man in the Mediterranean resort Alanya insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since he had nowhere to live. The court sent him to prison as he wanted, reportedly not for the first time, while thousands of people try to escape from similar legal cases.
The Central Bank cut its benchmark policy rate by 100 basis points to 36% on Oct. 22, its first monetary easing since January, in line with market expectations.
Eight ministers will take up four regional files at their first joint meeting. Their host, Turkey, plans to raise nearly every other problem on the international agenda, all in a single day.
The first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister yields deals on defense, energy and air transport as Ottawa seeks to reduce its reliance on the US and makes a sharp U-turn toward finding alternative partners.
The day jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was to begin his defense in the Istanbul Municipality trial for the first time since his arrest 19 months ago, a court-appointed trustee cut the live broadcast of the Halk TV, one of his staunchest supporters in the media.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows fell 35% year-over-year in the first eight months of 2026 to $6.8 billion from $10.5 billion recorded during the same period in 2025, according to data released by the International Investors Association (YASED).
For nearly half a million retail investors caught in Turkey’s worst financial storm in years, compensation has finally begun to flow. But the first cash distributions came as the fallout spread beyond Turkey’s borders: global index provider MSCI froze index changes for Turkish equities on Oct. 15 and warned of a possible downgrade, while prosecutors broadened their probes and lawmakers scrambled to pass emergency legislation.
For the first time in nearly five years, Turkey’s annual inflation rate slipped below 30%, giving the central bank room to consider easing monetary policy at its meeting on Oct. 22.
Borsa Istanbul’s most valuable company since the first half of 2025, Aselsan has agreed a set of record-breaking contracts in recent months.
The Turkish Air Force has received its first Hürkuş new-generation basic trainer aircraft, a milestone in a project initiated 20 years ago.
The last hearing in the second session of the Istanbul Municipality case regarding corruption accusations closed before 6 p.m. for the first time on Sept. 17, after weeks of hearings that had stretched late into the night.