Analysis

In-Depth Analysis

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

DOES ERDOĞAN WANT A REGIME WITHOUT ELECTIONS?
Portrait of the Week Apr 2, 2026

DOES ERDOĞAN WANT A REGIME WITHOUT ELECTIONS?

Let us say it plainly at the outset: the answer is no. This is bigger than his wishes or reluctance. For more than a year, based on the operations against CHP municipalities, there has been a slew of analyses claiming that 'Erdoğan will not hold elections'. Similar analyses — citing earthquakes and wars as justification for him avoiding elections — also proved wrong before the 2023 elections and before.

Anonymous
FÜZE / MISSILE
Word of the Week Mar 12, 2026

FÜZE / MISSILE

Few Turkish words arrive with less subtlety than füze. Borrowed from the French fusée, it sounds clipped, metallic and modern. It is a word that pierces a sentence rather than softly enters it, except when used in slang. In the mid-20th century, füze was slang for breasts that projected upward; the opposite of pide, or flat, breasts. It is a small linguistic reminder of how the male gaze has long blended the language of warfare with that of desire.

Nazlan Ertan
HAVELSAN'S FLIGHT SIMULATOR CERTIFIED
Security and Defense Mar 5, 2026

HAVELSAN'S FLIGHT SIMULATOR CERTIFIED

Turkish defense and software company HAVELSAN said its Flight Training Device Level 2 simulator for Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft has received FNPT II MCC and FTD Level 2 certification, making it the first platform produced and certified at this level in Turkey.

Editorial Team
RUSSIAN AND FRENCH EMBASSIES IN ANKARA SPAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN TURKISH
Foreign Affairs Feb 27, 2026

RUSSIAN AND FRENCH EMBASSIES IN ANKARA SPAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN TURKISH

In a rare diplomatic spat in the local language, the Russian and French diplomatic missions in Ankara traded barbs on social media over the ongoing war in Ukraine amid the war’s anniversary. The dispute, which drew attention from Turkish users, shifted from geopolitical accusations to historical insults and the use of emojis.

Editorial Team