Analysis

In-Depth Analysis

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

ERDOĞAN HOSTS MAHMOUD ABBAS
Foreign Affairs Sep 17, 2025

ERDOĞAN HOSTS MAHMOUD ABBAS

Soon after Israel launched a major ground offensive in Gaza City, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is hosting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for an unofficial visit in the Turkish capital.

Editorial Team
GÜRSEL TEKİN, WHERE TO?
Portrait of the Week Sep 11, 2025

GÜRSEL TEKİN, WHERE TO?

Gürsel Tekin is the child of a family that migrated to Istanbul immediately after the 1980 military coup that turned Turkey upside down. The family’s roots lie in the province that was then called Kars, now Ardahan—a region where leftist and socialist movements were strong before the coup.

Anonymous
HÜRJET PASSES CRITICAL TEST
Security and Defense Sep 11, 2025

HÜRJET PASSES CRITICAL TEST

Turkish Aerospace Industries’ (TAI) jet trainer aircraft Hürjet has passed another milestone in the certification process by obtaining the Design Organization Approval (DOA) and Production Organization Approval (POA) certificates, Haluk Görgün, head of Defense Industries, announced on Sept. 10.

Editorial Team
CHP CALLS SNAP CONGRESS AS LEGAL BATTLE ESCALATES
Inside Turkey Sep 6, 2025

CHP CALLS SNAP CONGRESS AS LEGAL BATTLE ESCALATES

Turkey’s main opposition party, the CHP, is set to hold an extraordinary congress on Sept. 21, after more than 900 delegates submitted signatures to Ankara’s Çankaya District Election Board on September 5. The move comes amid a growing legal standoff that has rocked the party’s Istanbul branch. Among the signatories, the 196 Istanbul delegates suspended by court order were not included.

Editorial Team
CHP FACES NEW SETBACK AS COURT HALTS ISTANBUL CONGRESS PROCESS
Deep Dive Sep 5, 2025

CHP FACES NEW SETBACK AS COURT HALTS ISTANBUL CONGRESS PROCESS

Turkey’s main opposition CHP suffered a fresh blow as a court dissolved its largest provincial board in Istanbul over cash payment claims. The party now awaits either a Sept. 5 ruling by the Supreme Election Board (YSK) or a Sept.15 court hearing that could unseat Chair Özgür Özel’s administration. The CHP, which came to power at a November 2023 congress with the slogan “Change,” now risks being replaced by the team of former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The 45th Civil Court of First Instance ruled that irregularities in the October 2023 Istanbul provincial congress were “approximately proven.” The court suspended provincial chair Özgür Çelik, the executive and disciplinary boards, and 196 delegates. Attention has now turned to another court set to review the CHP’s 2023 congress in Ankara. “The Istanbul decision is null and void. We do not recognize it,” said Özel, vowing not to hand over CHP’s Istanbul building to the appointed administration. The Istanbul administration also started a stage-in protest in front of the building for 24 hours.

Editorial Team
ERDOĞAN VOWS RESOLVE ON PEACE PROCESS
Inside Turkey Sep 5, 2025

ERDOĞAN VOWS RESOLVE ON PEACE PROCESS

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned that whoever tries to sabotage the Terror-Free Turkey process will face the consequences. Erdoğan emphasized that recent events have shown that Turkey has been most affected by the unrest in Syria.

Editorial Team
ERDOĞAN AND BAHÇELİ MEET AS SECOND CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF BAHÇELİ ARRESTED
Deep Dive Aug 28, 2025

ERDOĞAN AND BAHÇELİ MEET AS SECOND CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF BAHÇELİ ARRESTED

İsmet Sayhan, the former head of the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE) and a close associate of MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli, was arrested in Ankara. Amid speculation that the detention was a sign of cracks in the ruling alliance, Bahçeli and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met in Bitlis’s Ahlat and Malazgirt on Aug. 25–26, posing for cameras to signal the strength of their alliance in their first meeting since July 10. They even listened to folk songs together.

Editorial Team