Analysis

In-Depth Analysis

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

CRACKDOWN HAND IN HAND WITH 'FAMILY SAFE' OPERATION FOR OBSCENITY
Inside Turkey Sep 17, 2026

CRACKDOWN HAND IN HAND WITH 'FAMILY SAFE' OPERATION FOR OBSCENITY

After years of demonizing rhetoric against LGBTQ+ people, Turkish authorities launched a nationwide operation named 'My Family Is Safe,' detaining hundreds of people from civil society. The crackdown continued with arrests and access bans targeting dissidents, media outlets and civil society organizations' X accounts, widening to include broader opposition voices who spoke out against the operations. The main charge in the investigation was 'obscenity.'

Editorial Staff 4 min
MEŞRUİYET/LEGITIMACY
Word of the Week May 29, 2026

MEŞRUİYET/LEGITIMACY

My wicked editor and I have been on the phone constantly the last three days to exchange ideas on just what the word of the year should be. We toyed with “secret witness,” “active repentance” (read ratting out), “strategic autonomy,” “voice of the streets,” “angst,” and “normalization.” Finally, I used a columnist’s initiative and settled for meşruiyet, or legitimacy, over normalleşme/normalization.

Editorial Team
IRAN’S DILEMMA AND ERDOĞAN’S OPTIONS
Guest Voices Feb 12, 2026

IRAN’S DILEMMA AND ERDOĞAN’S OPTIONS

Forty Cleavers or Forty Mules for Iran? No information has leaked from the U.S.-Iran talks in Oman other than the statements from the two sides portraying them as positive. But it is no secret that Iran is faced with an impossible choice, like a thief in a Turkish fairy tale.

Guest Voices