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TEŞHİRCİ
Word of the Week Aug 28, 2025

TEŞHİRCİ

In Turkish, teşhirci (exhibitionist) is a word with two lives. In everyday use, it is an insult, hurled at women whose clothes are judged too revealing or at men who flaunt their cars and watches. In the Criminal Code, however, teşhircilik has a very precise meaning: exhibitionism. Article 225 punishes those who “publicly exhibit their sexual organs” with up to six months in prison. A word meant to describe a trench-coat flasher in a public park has, over time, swollen into a moral cudgel: used less to prosecute streakers and more to police women’s bodies.

Nazlan Ertan
COMMISSION SPLIT OVER RULE OF LAW
Inside Turkey Aug 28, 2025

COMMISSION SPLIT OVER RULE OF LAW

The parliamentary National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission held two tense meetings this week, first hearing from Turkey’s bar associations and then from former parliamentary speakers.The MPs on the commission, who had so far avoided direct confrontation, engaged in their first open war of words after bar leaders gave long speeches stressing constitutional rights and the rule of law.

Editorial Team
BEYOĞLU AND THE ARREST OF ITS MAYOR
Portrait of the Week Aug 21, 2025

BEYOĞLU AND THE ARREST OF ITS MAYOR

Don’t underestimate Beyoğlu. If a survey were conducted asking Turks to name the two districts they know best, the top answers would likely be Istanbul’s Beyoğlu and Ankara’s Çankaya. Çankaya is well known because it houses Atatürk’s legacy, the Republic, parliament, state institutions, and embassies.

Anonymous
FROM SOMALIA TO BURKINA FASO, TURKEY BUILDS PARTNERSHIP OVER PATERNALISM
Guest Voices Aug 21, 2025

FROM SOMALIA TO BURKINA FASO, TURKEY BUILDS PARTNERSHIP OVER PATERNALISM

For the past decade, Turkey’s Africa policy has favored partnership — co-designed projects, capacity building, and trade — over extractive habits associated with colonial legacies. Two countries once written off as “failed states,” Somalia and Burkina Faso, illustrate this shift. Both are edging back toward firmer state capacity under locally led agendas, with Turkey positioned as a security and development partner rather than a patron.

Editorial Team
ERDOĞAN PUSHES FOR DEFENSE TIES AS MACRON FOCUSES ON UKRAINE SECURITY
Foreign Affairs Aug 21, 2025

ERDOĞAN PUSHES FOR DEFENSE TIES AS MACRON FOCUSES ON UKRAINE SECURITY

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone call on Aug. 21, their first direct contact since the NATO summit in June. The two leaders discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine, the crisis in Gaza, and bilateral cooperation, with Erdoğan again stressing Ankara’s interest in deepening defense ties with France. Both later shared posts on X, tagging each other in messages that underlined common concerns but also revealed different priorities. On bilateral ties, Erdoğan said Turkey valued closer cooperation with France, particularly in the defense industry, and wanted to keep advancing relations across multiple fields. Ankara has long sought approval from Paris to procure European air-defense systems. A green light for the sale of Eurosam GIE’s SAMP/T could accelerate Turkey’s plan to build its own missile shield, described as a “steel dome,” within two to three years.

Editorial Team
THE LAST DANCE OF THE EFE IN HIGH HEELS
Portrait of the Week Aug 15, 2025

THE LAST DANCE OF THE EFE IN HIGH HEELS

Özlem Çerçioğlu has been elected mayor of Aydın from the CHP for four consecutive terms. She also previously served two terms as a CHP lawmaker. Before delving into the political dimension, it’s worth examining the nickname she’s been given—“Topuklu Efe” (Efe in High Heels).

Anonymous
GOVERNMENT PAY RISE PROPOSAL SPARKS UNION OUTRAGE
Economy and Finance Aug 15, 2025

GOVERNMENT PAY RISE PROPOSAL SPARKS UNION OUTRAGE

The government’s first pay offer in collective bargaining—10% for the first half of 2026, 6% for the second half, and 4% for each half of 2027—was rejected by public sector unions representing about four million civil servants and more than two million retirees.

Editorial Team
PERVİN BULDAN AND THE TWO Ks
Portrait of the Week Aug 8, 2025

PERVİN BULDAN AND THE TWO Ks

The Kurdish political movement is a powerful women's movement as well. Within the movement, the female force is often described as “women’s revolution.” That’s why the “two Ks” in the title stand for Kurdish and Kadın (Woman). Pervin Buldan is one of the most prominent figures representing this female presence within the Kurdish political movement.

Anonymous
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN: TURKEY AND EGYPT AS THE TWO BASTIONS
Guest Voices Aug 8, 2025

EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN: TURKEY AND EGYPT AS THE TWO BASTIONS

The Eastern Mediterranean has always been shaped by the interplay of northern and southern powers. From the time of the Hittites and Ancient Egyptians to the Ottomans and Mamluks, and through to the present day, control or influence over this region—from Mesopotamia to North Africa—has often rested with one or the other. When Turkey and Egypt were aligned, a degree of order and stability was possible. When they clashed, chaos ensued. History shows us that these two centers of power matter—and they still do today.

Guest Voices
ULTRANATIONALIST RIFT OVER COMMISSION DEEPENS
Inside Turkey Aug 8, 2025

ULTRANATIONALIST RIFT OVER COMMISSION DEEPENS

A political feud has erupted between Turkey’s two largest ultranationalist parties—the MHP and its breakaway rival the İYİ Party—over the establishment of a parliamentary commission tasked with preparing for the potential disarmament of the PKK.

Editorial Team