Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Statements attributed to Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan during IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok sparked debate over foreign exchange policy, prompting a direct denial from a top market economist who attended the session.
With the framework law in force and mechanisms in place to allow the return of PKK militants, the peace process has moved into a new phase — not without controversy.
Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, no stranger to controversy, has provoked a backlash after announcing a change to the newly updated national school curriculum that renames the War of Independence.
The parliamentary delegation’s visit to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on Nov. 24 — involving MPs from the AKP, MHP, and DEM — reignited tensions and revived coup speculation. The ruling parties' silence further fueled the controversy.
The name of Beşir Atalay, a founding member of the ruling AKP and a former interior minister, has been removed from a university campus in Kırıkkale, causing controversy within the party.
Preparations for the COP31 climate summit, set to be held in Antalya on Nov. 9-20, are fueling controversy over costs, procurement methods and forced land seizures.
A Turkish company is the main contractor for a project in which the U.S. will provide bombs to Israel, sparking controversy in Turkey.
The abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States has reignited a fierce debate in Turkey over the concept of the “internal front,” a term increasingly used by the government to call for national unity amid shifting global dynamics. The notion of “fortifying the internal front” — defined by the government as acting in unison on national issues — gained prominence alongside changes in the international order. It was President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who first introduced the phrase in August 2024, and has repeatedly emphasized it over the past year as a shield against foreign policy challenges and a necessity for “national survival.”
Religious Affairs Directorate head Ali Erbaş’s term has come to an end. He held the post for eight years. In other words, during the last eight years of the ruling party’s 23-year tenure, Turkey’s religious life was under Erbaş’s administration. Heads of the directorate, known as the Diyanet in Turkish, have always been subjects of debate, but Erbaş has been at the very peak of this controversy.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over Jerusalem has sparked a new controversy between the two leaders.
The 11th session of Turkey’s parliamentary commission on the Kurdish peace process saw its first major confrontation, as comments made by a representative of the İslami Tebliğ Tedris İlim Hareketi Adamları Association (İTTİHAD) prompted a dramatic walkout by members of the DEM Party. The controversy began when Mehmet Beşir Şimşek, a senior figure in İTTİHAD, addressed the commission on Sept. 18. The group is widely known for its ideological ties to Turkish Hizbullah, which was linked to a series of extrajudicial killings in the 1990s, many involving victims bound and executed using the notorious “pig-tie” method.
As Turkey reels from a major diploma fraud scandal, the main opposition CHP has turned its attention to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, questioning the validity of his academic credentials.