Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
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.
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.
Allegations of widespread cheating in Turkey’s national High School Entrance Exam (LGS) have triggered a political storm, with opposition figures accusing the Education Ministry of negligence and a cover-up, while Minister Yusuf Tekin has forcefully rejected the claims, using inflammatory language to discredit critics. More than a month after the exam, a senior official from the ministry has been dismissed.
Journalist Fatih Altaylı, who has been detained at Silivri Prison since June 22 on allegations of threatening the president in remarks on his YouTube channel, has an indictment filed against him that calls for as much as five years in jail.
The paths of Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mehmet Murat Çalık first crossed in 2014. İmamoğlu had just been elected mayor of Beylikdüzü. Çalık began working with him as deputy mayor. In 2019, when İmamoğlu became Mayor of Istanbul, Çalık was elected mayor of Beylikdüzü in the same elections.
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?”
A joint Turkish-UAE-Chinese venture is set to launch a comprehensive digital banking and payments platform in Turkey, marking an unusual cross-border collaboration that includes players from both the Gulf and China.
Despite strained ties with Israel following the October 7 attacks, Turkey has emphasized its key role in brokering a ceasefire in Syria’s Suweida province, where fighting between Israel-backed Druze groups and Bedouin Arab tribes had escalated to involve regime forces.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remark about a “triple alliance” between the AKP, MHP, and DEM Party has drawn a sharp rebuke from DEM Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları, who said the comment misrepresented the party’s role in the ongoing disarmament process.
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.
Can Media Group, which acquired Habertürk TV and Show TV late last year, has announced a major leadership reshuffle as part of its strategic realignment.
An Ankara court has suspended a 10-day broadcasting blackout imposed on Halk TV, but SZC TV, which received the same penalty, has gone off air after a separate court upheld the sanction.