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
CO-CHAIR: DEM WILL REMAIN IN OPPOSITION REGARDLESS OF PROCESS OUTCOME
Inside Turkey Jul 25, 2025

CO-CHAIR: DEM WILL REMAIN IN OPPOSITION REGARDLESS OF PROCESS OUTCOME

Ahead of CHP’s hesitations to join the parliamentary commission, DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan said that the party will maintain its opposition identity even if the process is successful. Bakırhan stated that the matter will eventually be brought before the DEM and that they will not approve the constitutional amendment if it does not satisfy their demands regarding the Kurdish issue, democratization, women's rights, youth, Alevis' right to equal citizenship, economic justice, and the environment.

Editorial Team
SYMBOL OF FEAR RETURNS
Inside Turkey Jul 25, 2025

SYMBOL OF FEAR RETURNS

One of the prosecutors overseeing the case against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has come under fire after CHP Chair Özgür Özel revealed that the prosecutor displays a model of a Beyaz Toros—a car widely associated with disappearances and state violence in the 1990s. İmamoğlu, who has been held at Silivri Prison since his March 19 arrest, recounted the incident during an interview with journalist Ruşen Çakır of Medyascope as he visited the Istanbul Mayor in prison. İmamoğlu said the prosecutor, who took his testimony following the sweeping police operation, placed a symbolic image of the white Renault Toros on his desk and ended the interrogation by saying: “Tomorrow you become president, then you judge us.”

Editorial Team
MOST SIGNIFICANT SHAKE-UP IN ARMY'S PENSION FUND SINCE 2016 COUP ATTEMPT
Security and Defense Jul 22, 2025

MOST SIGNIFICANT SHAKE-UP IN ARMY'S PENSION FUND SINCE 2016 COUP ATTEMPT

In the most dramatic leadership overhaul at OYAK since the 2016 coup attempt, retired Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakallı—once a key figure in thwarting the coup—has been named chairman of the Turkish Armed Forces' influential pension fund and commercial powerhouse. OYAK announced the surprise changes just two months after its general assembly on May 17.

Editorial Team
SÜREÇ
Word of the Week Jul 18, 2025

SÜREÇ

In the great Turkish game of semantics, few words do more political heavy lifting than süreç. Literally “process,” süreç is the bureaucrat’s fig leaf, the politician’s magic wand, and the journalist’s catch-all term when no one knows quite what to call a thing. It conjures movement without a very clear or declared direction, change without rupture, action without accountability. You don’t fail a süreç—you just manage it, drag it, or rebrand it.

Nazlan Ertan
IF THE PKK IS CHANGING, WHY CAN’T THE DEM PARTY?
Capital Currents Jul 18, 2025

IF THE PKK IS CHANGING, WHY CAN’T THE DEM PARTY?

After 47 years, the PKK has decided to disband and lay down arms. According to the group’s founder, Abdullah Öcalan, this marks a paradigm shift: the struggle will now continue through strengthened political engagement. Following what both the government and opposition have called a “historic” decision, change is now expected within the DEM Party—the Kurdish political movement’s representative in Turkish Parliament. As one MP who recently visited Öcalan on İmralı Island put it: “Even the PKK is changing—why wouldn’t the DEM Party?”

Nergis Demirkaya
İMAMOĞLU CLEARED OF ‘TARGETING’; RECEIVES PRISON SENTENCE FOR ‘THREAT’ AND ‘INSULT’
Inside Turkey Jul 16, 2025

İMAMOĞLU CLEARED OF ‘TARGETING’; RECEIVES PRISON SENTENCE FOR ‘THREAT’ AND ‘INSULT’

Jailed Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was acquitted of charges of “targeting public officials involved in counterterrorism” but was convicted of “publicly insulting a public official due to his duty” and “making threats” in the case concerning Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. The court sentenced İmamoğlu to one year and five months in prison for the insult charge and an additional two months and 15 days for the threat charge, totaling one year and eight months. If upheld by the appeals court, the ruling could result in a political ban.

Editorial Team
U.S. TARGETS IRANIAN OIL NETWORK OPERATING VIA TURKEY, UAE AND HONG KONG
Foreign Affairs Jul 14, 2025

U.S. TARGETS IRANIAN OIL NETWORK OPERATING VIA TURKEY, UAE AND HONG KONG

The United States has imposed sanctions on 22 entities linked to a shadow banking network accused of facilitating illicit oil trade on behalf of the Iranian regime. The network operates through front companies based in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong, funneling revenue to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), the U.S. State Department announced on July 9.

Editorial Team