Analysis

In-Depth Analysis

Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.

COMPLAINANT, WITNESS, AND DEFENDANT — ALL CHP
Inside Turkey Apr 23, 2026

COMPLAINANT, WITNESS, AND DEFENDANT — ALL CHP

A recent judicial operation that placed the CHP-run Ataşehir municipality under trustee administration has exposed something more damaging than any prosecutor's indictment: the party is being undone, in part, by its own.

Editorial Team
ERDOĞAN’S ELECTION PLAN
Capital Currents Apr 23, 2026

ERDOĞAN’S ELECTION PLAN

The CHP is seeking to win power but is trying to do politics while caught in a major judicial clampdown. Operations target municipalities on one front, and the threat of an “absolute nullity” ruling persists against the party center.

Nergis Demirkaya
SİGARA / CIGARETTE
Word of the Week Apr 17, 2026

SİGARA / CIGARETTE

Sigara (and its unruly cousin, cigara) comes to Turkish via Italian — a linguistic clue that matches the prevailing historical account: tobacco reached the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century through Genoese trade routes, though some credit goes to the British. Origins aside, the word now points to a habit so entrenched it once traveled abroad as cliché: “smoke like a Turk.”

Nazlan Ertan
NOT A QUORUM CRISIS, BUT A SYSTEMIC ONE
Capital Currents Apr 17, 2026

NOT A QUORUM CRISIS, BUT A SYSTEMIC ONE

“The opposition called for a quorum check, and when the required majority was not met, parliament was adjourned.” In recent months, this recurring news in parliament is not merely a simple quorum crisis. Behind it lie both structural problems inherent in the presidential system and the power struggle between the government and the opposition, spilling into parliamentary proceedings.

Nergis Demirkaya
NEPOTISM, OR HOW TO DISMANTLE A FOREIGN MINISTRY
The Third Desk Apr 17, 2026

NEPOTISM, OR HOW TO DISMANTLE A FOREIGN MINISTRY

Each time political appointments in diplomacy are criticised in Turkey, the same defence appears with the reliability of a reflex: “Other countries do it too”. Perhaps they do. But mediocrity does not become wisdom once imported.

Editorial Team
DEFENDANTS CONTINUE CHALLENGING CORRUPTION INDICTMENT ON İMAMOĞLU CASE
Inside Turkey Apr 17, 2026

DEFENDANTS CONTINUE CHALLENGING CORRUPTION INDICTMENT ON İMAMOĞLU CASE

The sixth week of the mass corruption trial of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and more than 400 co-defendants produced some of its most dramatic courtroom exchanges. İmamoğlu and the presiding judge continued sharp exchanges while the municipality’s housing company, KİPTAŞ, chair Ali Kurt implicated senior government figures in a land scheme, and the European Court of Human Rights formally demanded answers from Ankara.

Editorial Team
ÖZDİL STEPS DOWN IN JUST FOUR MONTHS
Media, Internet and Culture Apr 10, 2026

ÖZDİL STEPS DOWN IN JUST FOUR MONTHS

Journalist Yılmaz Özdil has stepped down from his position as head of the Sözcü Media Group — which encompasses SZC TV and the Sözcü and Korkusuz newspapers — after just four months in the role. Özdil also resigned from his column at the Sözcü newspaper.

Editorial Team