Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Ten years after the failed coup, the crackdown on Gülenist-owned businesses has become a revenue stream: the state has collected $1.5 billion from selling off seized firms — and the state fund managing them has grown into one of the country's largest conglomerates, its reach now extending far beyond the Gülenists.
NATO Allies announced on July 7 that over $40 billion will be invested in counter-drone capabilities over the next five years.
The government has started to admit that it is seeking a way to rid itself of the S-400 missiles it bought from Russia.
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.
Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 joint production program because of Russia during Trump’s presidency; can it be taken back because of Russia yet again during Trump’s presidency?
The US has started the process of removing Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which it has held since 1979 — a win for Turkey and for visiting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Paying an official visit to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the NATO Summit and signaling movement on the F-35 and the Kaan's F110 engines, US President Donald Trump also touched on two subjects that sent a chill through Ankara: the release of American Pastor Andrew Brunson, and Turkey's stance in the US-Israeli war against Iran. Meant as praise, both stories cut deeper than they flattered.
Foreign investors' confidence in Turkish equities is under mounting pressure as two of the world's leading index providers signaled Istanbul's stock market could face a downgrade. Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) issued another warning regarding investment accessibility and shareholder transparency, announcing it may re-evaluate free-float structures on a company-by-company basis and reclassify certain shareholders as 'non-free float' to address distorted calculations driven by coordinated fund actions.
Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, no stranger to controversy, has provoked a backlash after announcing a change to the newly updated national school curriculum that renames the War of Independence.
Reports of police mistreatment and physical abuse during police detention are rising, as figures, such as journalists and comedians after detentions or arrests speak louder.
Legislation designed to ensure the surrender of thousands of armed Kurdish militants will be passed before the end of the summer as the government tries to push the high-tension disarmament process over the line, according to remarks from Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.
The four-month-long first session of the Istanbul Municipality trial ended on July 8 without the testimony of its main defendant: Ekrem İmamoğlu, the jailed Istanbul mayor and ousted CHP administration's presidential candidate, who is accused of being the leader of an alleged criminal organization.