Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
January inflation came in higher than expected, raising concerns that price pressures remain stubbornly high and that progress toward the government’s disinflation targets is faltering.
Fahrettin Altun, who was removed in July from the Directorate of Communications he founded and from his role at the Center for Combating Disinformation, is expected to be appointed Turkey’s ambassador to the Vatican, according to several diplomatic sources.
MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli raised the bar this week in the Kurdish peace process he launched in October 2024. He proposed the “right to hope” for Abdullah Öcalan. What do we mean by the right to hope?
A symbolic protest emerged after images circulated on social media showing the cut hair of a woman allegedly killed in Syria, in areas formerly under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The images sparked a wave of solidarity in Turkey, where activists, health workers, and even a football club adopted hair-braiding as a form of protest—prompting legal and political repercussions.
This week, a century-old star of the stage passed away. He was 98. He had spent 70 of those years performing. The theater has bid farewell to one of its last great masters, Haldun Dormen. Despite this being a death, I chose a title that contains no word of mourning: “Goodbye, my sweet.” It may not appeal to everyone, but it suits Dormen.
The Casablanca line everyone remembers wrong is: “Play it again, Sam.” The film doesn’t actually include that. What Ilsa Lund says in the movie is quieter and more revealing: “Play it, Sam… Play ‘As Time Goes By.’”
Turkey is seeking to increase its planned purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon jets from Qatar to 24 aircraft, up from an initial 12, as Ankara explores options to secure additional airframes amid tightening global supply and rising demand, a senior defense source told Turkey in Depth.
Turkey joined Damascus, welcoming the victory of Syrian government forces and the defeat of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which further strained the ongoing peace process. Tensions in the political arena rose after a Turkish flag was brought down during the DEM Party’s group meeting in the border town of Nusaybin, neighboring Qamishli. The name of the person who brought down the Turkish flag was not shared by the government, but an investigation was launched, while the DEM Party described the incident as a provocation, recalling similar instances from the past.
In their first call since unrest spread across Iran, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, that Turkey does not support any scenario involving external intervention in Iran, according to a statement from the Turkish Presidency on Jan. 22.
Turkey’s sweeping drug operations have expanded to include prominent figures from business and entertainment, triggering debate over whether the focus remains on organized crime kingpins or on well-known public personalities.
The EU’s draft “Made in Europe” proposal to support European producers of green technology excludes Turkey from “Europe” but allows the European Commission to determine which non-EU countries can be included in the scheme on a sectoral basis. The Turkish business community is alarmed at the new rules aimed at strengthening European manufacturing against rising competition from China and the U.S., Turkey in Depth learned. Fearing this would create a new hurdle in Turkey’s trade with the EU, business leaders have been lobbying in Brussels, urging officials to consider Turkey as part of Europe. Turkey in Depth has learned that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a letter to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen regarding the decision.
One would expect the bromance between U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to reach new heights following the former’s recent disavowal of the PKK/YPG.