Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
A new political dispute has erupted after AKP’s Istanbul branch began running ads on billboards criticizing the Istanbul Municipality, giving the impression that an election campaign is already underway.
An administrative court is expected to issue a ruling within 15 days in the case filed by jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu challenging Istanbul University’s revocation of his university diploma — a decision that will determine his eligibility to run as a presidential candidate.
Let us begin with a very old and very familiar anecdote. The famous poet Yahya Kemal was once asked: “What do you like about Ankara?” His answer: “The return to Istanbul.” Mansur Yavaş thinks the exact opposite. Wherever he is, he wants to return to Ankara at the first opportunity, and he likes it when everything returns to Ankara. Not out of anxiety to make it to work on time. But because he is a man of the land. Because he is from Ankara.
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.
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.
What happens if Donald Trump were to send Delta Force to “get” Greenland? Would it be the end of NATO, as Denmark’s prime minister suggested? While the validity of NATO’s Article 5 is questioned, allies feel they can no longer rely on U.S. nuclear protection. In times of great power competition mid-size regional powers tend to forge alliances to consolidate their security.
Turkey is tightening border security in the east in case of a wave of people fleeing turmoil in Iran.
Turkish prosecutors have opened a money-laundering investigation into Ekol TV, expanding scrutiny that has already targeted Can Medya, Flash Haber, and Gain Medya.
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 will buy communications software from Havelsan, the Ankara-based defense IT provider.
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 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.