EMEKLİ/RETIRED
In Turkish, emekli / retired is supposed to be a word of closure. It comes from emek: labor, effort, the long arc of work, and implies that something has been duly completed. You have labored; therefore, you may withdraw.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
SHADOW OF SYRIA OVER TURKEY’S PEACE PROCESS
Following the PKK’s decision to lay down arms, the newly launched “peace process” has become tangled up in tensions over Syria. The military operation by the Damascus regime that pushed the SDF/YPG out of two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo has strained relations between the AKP–MHP alliance and the DEM Party, ending a cautious rapprochement as part of the process. It has also disrupted a positive atmosphere that had lasted for nearly a year, raising fresh doubts about the prospects of success.
IRAN BORDER TIGHTENED AGAINST POSSIBLE REFUGEE WAVE
Turkey is tightening border security in the east in case of a wave of people fleeing turmoil in Iran.
MONEY-LAUNDERING PROBE EXPANDS TO SHUTTERED EKOL TV
Turkish prosecutors have opened a money-laundering investigation into Ekol TV, expanding scrutiny that has already targeted Can Medya, Flash Haber, and Gain Medya.
WATCHDOG FINES TURKEY’S TOP-RATED PRIME-TIME TV SERIES
Turkey’s broadcast watchdog has imposed heavy fines on three major television channels over their most-watched programs, citing viewer complaints and alleged violations of family values and public morality.
NATO TO PROCURE COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE FROM HAVELSAN
NATO will buy communications software from Havelsan, the Ankara-based defense IT provider.
ASELSAN MOVES DRONE-BUSTER DRAGON INTO PRODUCTION
Aselsan, the flagship defense contractor, is moving its anti-drone system Ejderha (Dragon) into production, adding to elements of the planned Steel Dome missile shield.
BAYKAR TO STAMP UAVS “MADE IN EU” WITH ITALY PRODUCTION PUSH, EYES U.S.
Baykar will begin manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles in Italy for the European market, a move that will allow its systems to carry a “Made in EU” label and gain customs advantages across the bloc, while the company also plans a logistics base and service network in the United States.
U.S. SEIZURE OF MADURO RAISES “INTERNAL FRONT” CONTROVERSY IN TURKEY
The abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States has reignited a fierce debate in Turkey over the concept of the “internal front,” a term increasingly used by the government to call for national unity amid shifting global dynamics. The notion of “fortifying the internal front” — defined by the government as acting in unison on national issues — gained prominence alongside changes in the international order. It was President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who first introduced the phrase in August 2024, and has repeatedly emphasized it over the past year as a shield against foreign policy challenges and a necessity for “national survival.”
CHP REVIVES NORMALIZATION STRATEGY TO BREAK POLITICAL GRIDLOCK
Turkey’s main opposition party is recalibrating its political strategy, reviving a discourse of 'normalization' in a calculated bid to dismantle the country’s deep-seated polarization and lure voters from the governing alliance.
AS SYRIA INTEGRATION STALLS, TURKEY’S PEACE TRACK FACES REGIONAL PRESSURE
After Damascus launched a military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the ruling AKP-MHP alliance linked the trajectory of Turkey’s peace process to developments in Syria.
STRASBOURG’S TIME MACHINE: İMAMOĞLU, “PRIORITY”, AND TURKEY’S RETURN TO THE 1990S
There are mornings when you wake up and discover someone has quietly replaced your streaming subscriptions with a box of VHS tapes. The picture is grainy, the dialogue familiar, the plot depressingly simple: detention, indictment, polarisation, and non-functioning courts. Welcome back to the future, 1990s Turkey in the 21st century.