INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE: IMAGINATION OR REALITY?
The specifications announced far exceed any product developed by the Turkish defense industry to date.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
TWO MOST CHALLENGING PILLARS OF PEACE PROCESS
The Terror-Free Turkey process, widely dubbed as frozen or stalled, has been revived by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s latest remarks. Erdoğan said the process, now entering its 18th month, has reached a critical juncture requiring much more delicate management: “There is a positive atmosphere. What needs to be done is clear. The process is proceeding as it should.”
GOVERNMENT’S INVESTMENT INCENTIVES DRAW CRITICISM OVER LEGAL CONCERNS
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced a comprehensive investment incentive plan, aimed at making Turkey a 'global attraction center,' but the plan drew criticism over the lack of enforcement of existing laws.
COURT KEEPS ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST BEHIND BARS
Esra Işık, an activist from the village of İkizköy in Muğla’s Milas district who has spent years fighting to save her community's olive groves and farmland from coal mining expansion, was brought to her first court hearing on April 27 in handcuffs, escorted by gendarmerie officers from Şakran Prison in İzmir — more than 100 miles from her hometown where her case is being tried.
DEMOTION OF A GENERAL AFTER JET FLYOVER DURING FOOTBALL MATCH
A Turkish Air Force general has been removed from command after he allegedly coordinated a low-altitude jet flyover during a football match between Konyaspor and Fenerbahçe. Yet, the pro-government Yeni Şafak reported that he was targeted by the Gulenist movement.
RELIGIOUS REFERENCES IN BUREAUCRACY AND JUDICIARY CONTINUES FULL FLEDGED
A district governor in Ankara has been surprisingly reassigned following his religious references, political posturing against CHP members, and social media arguments. Meanwhile, the President of the Constitutional Court addressed jurists with similar religious references while he was demanding they ensure justice through religious frameworks.
MINERS WIN RIGHTS FIGHT, CALL ON WORKERS TO RESIST
More than a hundred coal miners at Doruk Madencilik have won their struggle for unpaid wages and benefits after a protest that resonated across the country
RESHUFFLING AMONG POLICE CHIEFS AND GOVERNORS
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed a new national police chief and reassigned several governors and provincial police directors in a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on April 30.
ERDOĞAN AND BAHÇELİ MEET AS MHP UNDERGOES INTERNAL REORGANIZATION
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli at the presidential complex in Ankara on April 30 for a closed-door meeting lasting approximately one hour. It was only the second face-to-face encounter between the two coalition partners this year — their previous meeting took place on Jan. 21— and the first in over three months.
KILIÇDAROĞLU AND THE LEADERSHIP QUESTION IN THE CHP
After Atatürk’s death, İsmet İnönü was elected Turkey’s second president and the second person to lead the CHP. He ran the party for 34 years, from 1938 to 1972. When CHP members elected Bülent Ecevit as chair at the 1972 congress, İnönü left the party, most likely with deep resentment. When he died in 1973 at the age of 89, he was not even a member of the CHP.
FORMULA 1, ISTANBUL AND THE POLITICS OF SPEED
Formula 1 is returning to Istanbul Park. The engines will come back, the cameras will return, and Turn 8 will once again receive its share of global admiration.
FIDAN LAUNCHES DIPLOMATIC PUSH AMID NEW FLOTILLA CRISIS
After Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near Crete, detaining at least 20 Turkish nationals among approximately 175 activists on board, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan moved quickly on the diplomatic front, holding back-to-back calls with his Spanish and Greek counterparts.