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TENSE OATH CEREMONY SIGNALS SHARPER POLITICAL ERA IN ANKARA
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

TENSE OATH CEREMONY SIGNALS SHARPER POLITICAL ERA IN ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğıan’s decision to appoint Akın Gürlek, a bogeyman for the main opposition CHP, as justice minister is the clear indication of a more bruising domestic politics ahead. The first sign of that came during the oath ceremony in Parliament. For the first time, a minister took the oath of office amid scuffles that escalated into pushing and shoving. AKP lawmakers formed what opposition deputies described as a “human wall” to shield the podium.

Editorial Team
SEARCH FOR A THIRD WAY WIDENS AMONG CONSERVATIVE AND RIGHT-WING PARTIES
Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

SEARCH FOR A THIRD WAY WIDENS AMONG CONSERVATIVE AND RIGHT-WING PARTIES

Efforts by conservative and right-wing parties to build a “third way” outside the ruling and main opposition blocs are gaining momentum, as Saadet Party and YRP — both rooted in Turkey’s first political Islamist tradition, the National View (Milli Görüş) shaped by Necmettin Erbakan — step up talks on election cooperation. The renewed contacts signal a shift in relations between the two parties, which had previously been at odds over the movement’s legacy following the founding of YRP in 2018. This time, the talks focus on bringing together Saadet Party, YRP, Gelecek Party and DEVA Party under a common framework, with a broader alliance that could also include the İYİ Party.

Editorial Team
ANKARA SIGNALS NEW OUTREACH TO YAZIDIS
Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

ANKARA SIGNALS NEW OUTREACH TO YAZIDIS

Turkey took a new step in its engagement with minority communities when a Yazidi delegation was received in Ankara by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.

Editorial Team
CASH FLOW BECOMES PRIORITY IN SHIPBUILDING
Security and Defense May 29, 2026

CASH FLOW BECOMES PRIORITY IN SHIPBUILDING

Turkey is considering generating cash flow by exporting newly built naval platforms originally designed to meet domestic requirements. The first of 10 light corvette-class vessels planned for the Turkish Navy, the TCG Akhisar (P-1220), was sold straight to Romania without entering the Turkish inventory after its completion in December 2025. Ankara is now in talks to sell two newly built I-class (Istanbul/İstif-class) frigates to Indonesia.

Editorial Team
ALEPPO CLASHES DEEPEN FAULT LINES IN ANKARA
Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

ALEPPO CLASHES DEEPEN FAULT LINES IN ANKARA

An operation by the Syrian army targeting Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo has fueled tensions in Ankara between the two main actors of Turkey’s peace process, even as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says he remains optimistic for a resolution in the southern neighbor.

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WORLD IS BIGGER THAN FIVE—EXCEPT WHEN IT ISN’T
Deciphering Turkish Diplomacy May 29, 2026

WORLD IS BIGGER THAN FIVE—EXCEPT WHEN IT ISN’T

From Donald Trump’s perspective, he has just one interlocutor in Turkey: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. No criticism of the United States — no matter how harsh — coming from presidential advisors, the AKP spokesperson, the Foreign Ministry, or the MHP chair matters in the slightest to Trump.

Editorial Team
MEŞRUİYET/LEGITIMACY
Word of the Week May 29, 2026

MEŞRUİYET/LEGITIMACY

My wicked editor and I have been on the phone constantly the last three days to exchange ideas on just what the word of the year should be. We toyed with “secret witness,” “active repentance” (read ratting out), “strategic autonomy,” “voice of the streets,” “angst,” and “normalization.” Finally, I used a columnist’s initiative and settled for meşruiyet, or legitimacy, over normalleşme/normalization.

Editorial Team
TOWARDS HYPER WAR CAPABILITY
Security and Defense May 29, 2026

TOWARDS HYPER WAR CAPABILITY

The Turkish Armed Forces has been testing joint operations capabilities after a rapid increase in the number of national defense industry products in its inventory, primarily electronic warfare and air defense systems, warships, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Baykar's AI-powered mini cruise missile Kemankeş-1 continues to undergo firing tests from the strategic-class Bayraktar Akıncı UCAV. “The Kemankeş smart munitions integration and testing activities carried out with the Akıncı strategic UAV platform, capable of flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet, provide serious indications of Turkey's hyper warfare capacity development,” Dr. Can Kasapoğlu, senior researcher at the Hudson Institute, said.

Editorial Team