Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The Higher Education Council (YÖK) has effectively barred academics at public universities from monetizing content on YouTube and digital platforms, classifying online revenue as commercial trade, which is illegal for civil servants.
The government has put the lucrative Bosphorus bridges and major state highways back on sale 14 years after cancelling a similar tender. The move comes as medium-term plans include significantly higher privatization revenue in the coming years.
Özel finally finds his new party, calls it a shirt of fire, CHP self-divides again, imagining its votes will go higher.
An Ankara court on Sept. 11 overturned the ruling that appointed an interim committee to run the main opposition party’s Istanbul branch. According to the CHP, the decision from the Ankara 3rd Civil Court of First Instance effectively nullified the earlier ruling of the Istanbul 45th Civil Court, in line with CHP’s argument that only an Ankara court can rule since the party’s headquarters are in Ankara. Yet, the decision can be appealed in a higher court.
Turkey has reintroduced the “sliding scale mechanism” to prevent dramatic pump hikes from feeding inflation after the Iranian War pushed global oil prices higher.
January inflation came in higher than expected, raising concerns that price pressures remain stubbornly high and that progress toward the government’s disinflation targets is faltering.
At the turn of the year, a familiar ritual repeats itself in Turkey. Gyms raise their membership fees. Tradespeople adjust their prices. Real estate agents pocket higher commissions by systematically pushing up sale prices. Hardly anyone objects. Hardly anyone asks what added value is being offered. Price hikes are taken for granted — not because products have improved, but because inflation exists.
A higher court has upheld a Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) penalty that will take TELE1 off the air for five days starting the night of Aug. 31, unless the broadcaster’s latest appeal succeeds.
A university diploma is more than just a piece of paper. It’s a ticket to professional success and social prestige. But in Turkey in recent years, it has also become an object of national obsession, political ammunition, and judicial entanglement. Take, for instance, the latest storm swirling around Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. In February 2025, he found himself under investigation for allegedly forging his university diploma—a charge that could have significant political consequences. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched the probe following a report from the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) questioning the legitimacy of his academic credentials.