Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Authorities launched a tax audit targeting Cengiz Holding, a prominent pro-government conglomerate, but the decision to move the case from Istanbul to Ankara has raised questions. The group is also facing fierce environmental backlash over its partnership in the COP31 climate summit.
The court released four defendants, while informants who testified under effective remorse provisions refused to answer most questions from defense lawyers during cross-examination, claiming their previous testimonies were based on hearsay.
Ahmet and Hülya Gökçek, the son and daughter-in-law of former Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek, were questioned as suspects on Sept. 7 and released under judicial control with a ban on leaving Turkey.
The Trump administration has handed NATO allies a list of questions within the framework of an ongoing six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe.
Two deadly maritime disasters off Northern Cyprus and in the Marmara Sea have raised questions over oversight failures within maritime transport, leaving at least 20 dead and 28 missing while triggering political backlash against officials.
The first concrete step has been taken in the PKK's disarmament process, a subject Turkey has been discussing for nearly 22 months. The law that will form the legal groundwork for the group's disarmament passed parliament with what has been called a 'historic consensus.' Next comes implementation. But the real question is will this process, dubbed 'Terror-Free Turkey,' contribute to the country's democratization?
Ten years after tanks rolled onto the Bosphorus Bridge and F-16s bombed parliament, Turkey marks the anniversary of the failed July 15 coup attempt with a holiday named 'Democracy and National Unity Day' — in a country more polarized, less democratic and no closer to answering the fundamental questions of that night than it was a decade ago.
In the CHP, rapidly heading toward a split after the absolute nullity ruling, one of the key questions people are looking to answer is what stance Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş will take.
Questions about the future of Turkey-Armenia normalization have grown after Turkish Foreign Ministry removed key wording from its statement on Armenian elections, putting pressure on Armenia rather than also pushing Azerbaijan and it took President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan four days to congratulate the Armenian prime minister on his election win.
Since the court voided the CHP's 2023 party congress, the main opposition has been unable to untangle the knot — and each new court decision pulls it tighter. The question is whether the party can hold an extraordinary congress to break the deadlock. But the forces shaping what comes next run deeper: when and how the CHP headquarters under Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, 77, will move to press disciplinary charges, expelling some figures; whether the parliamentary immunity of ousted chair Özgür Özel, 51, and his allies — implicated by recent testimonies from Antalya and Uşak — will be lifted; and when a new party will be established.
“Am I obliged to answer this question?” was the reply of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan when he was asked about behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts that, according to the anchorwoman, had succeeded in stopping ballistic missile attacks from Iran against Turkey.
Following the consensus between Syria’s interim government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), momentum has returned to Turkey’s long-running efforts to end the decades-long armed conflict and address the Kurdish question through political and legal channels. This renewed dynamic has also pushed the “right to hope” for PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan back to the center of the political agenda.