Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The unemployment rate remained slightly above 8% in the first quarter of the year, according to TurkStat — yet independent surveys drawing on the same data continue to challenge the official picture.
A mechanism between Turkey and Germany that had been halted over a decade ago came back to life on May 18, when Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul in Berlin.
Pro-government television commentator Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı was remanded in custody on May 18 as part of a wide illegal betting and money laundering investigation led by the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
The AKP has begun laying the groundwork for the 2028 presidential and parliamentary elections, with plans to formally launch its campaign on Aug. 14 — the 25th anniversary of the party’s foundation.
At the 41st hearing of the sweeping Istanbul Municipality corruption trial, nine more defendants were released ahead of Eid al-Adha, bringing the total number of remaining detainees to 68.
A fresh blow has landed on the CHP as a court annulled the party's 2023 congress — the elective gathering at which the party leadership, including its chair, changed hands following an election defeat — ordering the party's administration to revert to its pre-congress configuration.
Diplomacy, at its best, is the art of managing appearances. At its worst, it is the art of mistaking those appearances for reality.
The way Donald Trump was received in Beijing by Xi Jinping showed China’s increased power and confidence in its relations with the US. Trump’s flattery of his host was a clear indication that China will no longer be regarded as an underdog that Trump can push around with arbitrary tariff increases.
The pace of the Kurdish peace process, and the model it will follow have now become intertwined with Abdullah Öcalan's lifespan.
A private company near Çorum with a history of only six years, ARCA Defense, has become the hidden leader of the sector.
Ahead of the AKP’s inaction, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli has outlined a detailed institutional framework to advance the peace process, urging all three branches of government to take concrete steps — while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared his government's determination to see it through without giving up caution.
The PKK’s disarmament, which has now stretched beyond a year and a half, has stalled at precisely the most critical stage — the point at which the state is expected to take action. Unless the government softens its precondition that “the disarmament process must first be fully completed,” the expected legal steps will likely be postponed until the new legislative year in October. The risks posed by delay are being discussed and meanwhile it also appears set to derail the transformation plans of the DEM Party, which has already started the countdown to a congress.