Analysis

In-Depth Analysis

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

All Inside Turkey Foreign Affairs Economy and Finance Security and Defense Deep Dive Media & Culture Media, Internet and Culture Deciphering Turkish Diplomacy Portrait of the Week Word of the Week Guest Voices Capital Currents Erospolis The Third Desk Poetic Licence
THE THIRD ‘HOCAM’ ERA IN NORTHERN CYPRUS
Portrait of the Week Oct 24, 2025

THE THIRD ‘HOCAM’ ERA IN NORTHERN CYPRUS

Tufan Erhürman became the new president of Northern Cyprus in Sunday’s election—winning twice as many votes as incumbent Ersin Tatar. Erhürman is a familiar name among Turkish Cypriots but not to the Turkish public. A seasoned politician who has served both as prime minister and party leader, he joins a line of Cypriot leaders whose names rarely surface in Turkey outside moments of crisis. Yet, like some of his predecessors, Mehmet Ali Talat and Mustafa Akıncı—both presidents from the same social-democratic tradition—his story also crosses paths with Ankara’s academic and political world.

Anonymous
BERLIN’S DEFENSE TURN WARMS TIES WITH ANKARA, COOLS CONCERN FOR DEMOCRACY
Deciphering Turkish Diplomacy Oct 24, 2025

BERLIN’S DEFENSE TURN WARMS TIES WITH ANKARA, COOLS CONCERN FOR DEMOCRACY

Turkish democracy is the casualty of Europe’s rediscovery of Turkey’s strategic value. To better understand the context of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to Ankara next week, one has to go back to the end of the Cold War. Whereas European countries have benefited from the peace dividend, the contrary happened for Turkey in the aftermath of the fall of the Iron Curtain. After enjoying the relative stability of the bipolar order of the Cold War era, Turkey found itself in the midst of several conflict zones. While most European countries downsized their defense budgets, Turkey had no such luxury. The fight against separatist terrorism, the turbulence created by the Gulf War, and regional conflicts like the ones in the Caucasus dictated the maintenance of a big and well-equipped army.

Barçın Yinanç
CYPRUS VOTE TRIGGERS NATIONALIST FURY IN TURKEY
Foreign Affairs Oct 24, 2025

CYPRUS VOTE TRIGGERS NATIONALIST FURY IN TURKEY

Recent election results in Northern Cyprus have stirred visible unease within Turkey’s ruling alliance, particularly in the far-right MHP, even as the AKP maintained a controlled response, delivering expected statements despite its apparent preferences.

Editorial Team
TURKEY, QATAR, KUWAIT DEEPEN COOPERATION DESPITE SILENCE ON GAZA
Foreign Affairs Oct 24, 2025

TURKEY, QATAR, KUWAIT DEEPEN COOPERATION DESPITE SILENCE ON GAZA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan concluded a three-day tour of the Gulf region on Oct. 23, with official visits to Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, amid ongoing international efforts to continue the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. While Gaza and Syria reportedly dominated the private discussions, official statements from the Turkish Presidency did not reference these issues.

Editorial Team
VETERAN KURDISH POLITICIAN ACQUITTED
Inside Turkey Oct 24, 2025

VETERAN KURDISH POLITICIAN ACQUITTED

Veteran Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk of the DEM Party has been acquitted of charges of promoting terrorist propaganda over a 2011 speech in Siirt, which had formed the legal basis for his replacement by a trustee as mayor of Mardin.

Editorial Team
CORRUPTION CRACKDOWN SHAKES BUSINESS AND POLITICS
Deep Dive Oct 24, 2025

CORRUPTION CRACKDOWN SHAKES BUSINESS AND POLITICS

A wave of asset seizures and prosecutions has shattered old certainties about which business groups are in favor with the government. The detentions and confiscations – some linked to the corruption probes into CHP municipalities – are raising hairs across the business world with observers uncertain whether it’s a genuine anti-corruption effort, a move to redistribute capital, or a sign of an internal power struggle within the presidency.

Editorial Team
IS AKP PUTTING THE LAST NAIL IN HAMAS’ COFFIN?
Deciphering Turkish Diplomacy Oct 10, 2025

IS AKP PUTTING THE LAST NAIL IN HAMAS’ COFFIN?

When the AKP came to power it had to prove to the outside world that it was not an Islamist party. The way to convince Western capitals went through luring in Israel and the Jewish lobby. By 2008, the party had consolidated power internally and received a high degree of acceptance from the Western capitals, which led to overconfidence. When the Arab Spring began, the AKP did not have to hide its true ideological leaning. Convinced that the moment for political Islam had finally come, the AKPs ruling elites did not hide their ambition to lead Muslim Brotherhood to power in Middle Eastern countries.

Barçın Yinanç
KEY SUSPECT IN SINAN ATEŞ MURDER CASE SHOT DEAD
Inside Turkey Oct 6, 2025

KEY SUSPECT IN SINAN ATEŞ MURDER CASE SHOT DEAD

Serdar Öktem, a lawyer affiliated with the MHP and a defendant in the 2022 assassination case of former Grey Wolves leader Sinan Ateş, died after being shot outside his office by masked assailants on Oct. 6. The attackers opened fire while Öktem was inside his car in front of his office on Büyükdere Avenue in Istanbul’s Zincirlikuyu district. Surveillance video showed six bullet holes in the window of his car. Despite emergency medical intervention, Öktem succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

Editorial Team
NOT A DRAMA, BUT REALITY: 248 DAYS IN PRISON
Portrait of the Week Oct 3, 2025

NOT A DRAMA, BUT REALITY: 248 DAYS IN PRISON

Who is Ayşe Barım? Those who should know her, don’t. The people of this country—who have lived all their lives below the poverty line, and not even all of them, only a few—first heard her name in the news bulletins. When? Exactly 248 days ago, when she was arrested. They didn’t know Ayşe Barım, but in the evenings they gathered with their families or friends, cracking sunflower seeds and watching TV dramas with excitement. Yet those viewers had no idea what was happening behind the screen. Behind the mesmerizing shows they watched so devotedly stood an unknown figure. Under the headlines “Çağlayan Courthouse / Silivri Prison,” Ayşe Barım was forced—by the hand of the judiciary, not by her own will—to step onto the stage from behind the curtains.

Anonymous
COMEDIAN ARRESTED
Media, Internet and Culture Oct 3, 2025

COMEDIAN ARRESTED

Comedian Egemen Şimşek was arrested on charges of insulting religious values held by a segment of the public.Istanbul’s Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into Şimşek over jokes about Moses and Jesus in his stand-up performance titled “Contrary Thoughts.”

Editorial Team