ERDOĞAN REAPS BENEFITS OF HIS GOOD TIES WITH TRUMP
The most important foreign policy development of this week was incontestably U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria during his visit to Saudi Arabia.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
TURKEY HOSTS NATO FOREIGN MINISTERS AMID POLITICAL TURMOIL
The informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers, which will take place in Antalya on May 14, will put the international spotlight on Turkey as it will be the first meeting attended by Western leaders after the arrest of the Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 23.
TURKEY HOSTS NATO FOREIGN MINISTERS AMID POLITICAL TURMOIL
The informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers, which will take place in Antalya on May 14, will put the international spotlight on Turkey as it will be the first meeting attended by Western leaders after the arrest of the Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 23.
ÇOCUK
In Turkish, çocuk simply means “child” — a small, willful person who believes the world should bend to their will. But in political life, çocuk is more than a noun: it is a litmus test. Unlike evlat, the solemn, Arabic-rooted term for “offspring,” çocuk suggests an individual, complete in themselves, not just a branch on a family tree. No surprise, then, that the AKP prefers evlat — a word that keeps people firmly tethered to family, lineage, and duty.
FIRST 100 DAYS OF ANKARA-TRUMP RELATIONS
The Trump administration and Turkey got off to a good start but the relationship needs to mature, an American observer familiar with both sides told me when asked about the first 100 days.
AN AKP FIGURE OF WEIGHT: BROTHER BÜLENT
Bülent Arınç. Most recently, he stirred controversy with his criticism of the cancellation of Ekrem İmamoğlu’s diploma and his detention. “Neighborhood” has become a widely used concept that reflects the deep polarization in Turkish politics. There’s an “AKP neighborhood,” we say, and there’s an “opposition neighborhood.” But with his remarks, which carried a tone of self-criticism, Arınç managed to draw a backlash from both his own neighborhood and its direct opposite. For those who know him, Arınç’s remarks came as no surprise. Throughout the AKP’s 23 years in power, he has been one of the few — perhaps the only — figures to voice such open dissent from within. Why? He puts it this way: “I have a certain weight of my own. I’m not like the others.”
SECULAR NORTH VS. RELIGIOUS ERDOĞAN: A POLITICAL WAR ON A DIVIDED ISLAND
“Those trying to undermine ties between Türkiye and the Turkic world through manipulation will not succeed,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said finally, weeks, even months, after four Central Asian Republics accredited ambassadors to Greek Cyprus. While Ankara continues to argue for two separate states to solve the Cyprus issue, it remains unmoved by recent diplomatic setbacks.
NORMAL DOĞUM
In Turkish, “normal doğum” refers to vaginal birth. But the term itself is anything but neutral. By naming one method “normal,” it quietly casts others — cesareans in particular — as “abnormal”. For women who undergo C-sections, whether for medical reasons or out of their own choice, the implication is clear: you failed to deliver the “natural” way. In fact, a Health Ministry ran a public ad two years ago that did just that: in a clumsily-shot clip, a baby just delivered by vaginal birth tells the mother that they “succeeded.” The contested term has once again taken center stage — not in a hospital, but on a football pitch.
DEBATE OVER HIJRAH FOR GAZANS
“We are absolutely against this,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a group of AKP lawmakers about plans to depopulate the Gaza Strip, according to daily Hürriyet. This statement came amid a debate that broke out over the concept of Hijrah for Gazans.
MAHMUT TANAL: SOUNDING THE SIREN
What is an ambulance for? What role does it play in our lives? An ambulance is a vehicle to transfer patients and the injured between hospitals. It also carries a team and equipment capable of providing urgent medical care. Because of the critical condition of those it transports, it moves through traffic with its sirens blaring. Very well, and who is Mahmut Tanal? What role does he play in our lives? And what does he have to do with an ambulance? Tanal is an MP from the CHP. A lawyer.
CUNTA
In Turkish politics, few words are as loaded—or as likely to provoke presidential rage—as “cunta.” From its etymological roots in the Spanish resistance to Napoleonic rule (junta, meaning a council), cunta has acquired a sinister sheen along the way. Today, it conjures images not of patriotic committees, but of tanks on boulevards, generals behind microphones, and constitutions suspended by decree (Bet you’ve heard that last one before). So when CHP Chair Özgür Özel recently accused the ruling bloc of staging a “civilian coup”—sivil darbe—and likened the government's tightening grip to a junta mentality, it landed like a Molotov cocktail in Turkey’s ever-combustible political arena.
HOW WILL THE TRUMP TARIFF HIKES IMPACT TURKEY?
Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs continue to shake the global economy and wreak havoc. Although President Trump announced a 90-day pause for most countries on April 9, letting markets soar after days of economic turmoil, he decided to hit China with further tariffs of an unprecedented 125%. There is no question that this will deepen the trade war with China. Regardless of the tariff pause, all major countries are still reflecting on worst-case scenarios. It is highly disputable whether President Trump will achieve his declared goal of striking fair and balanced trade deals with America’s partners. Let us hope that common sense will prevail and tariffs will be mutually lowered to reasonable levels through negotiations. However, given President Trump’s dithering, there is nothing but turmoil and chaos to be expected on the horizon.