Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
On Jan. 20, 1921, as the War of Independence was still being fought, the Grand National Assembly adopted a Constitution whose first article began: Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation (Hâkimiyet bilâ kaydü şart milletindir). On Oct. 29, 1923, the assembly added another sentence to that same article: The form of government of the Turkish state is the Republic (Türkiye Devletinin şekl-i hükûmeti Cumhuriyettir).
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, declined President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s invitation to attend the summit of the Organization of Turkic States, scheduled for the day after Turkey’s Republic Day, marking one of the biggest crises in the two countries' close relationship. Despite Ankara’s visible steps to defuse the recent tension, his refusal to come on a date carrying symbolic importance for Turkey attests to the changing dynamics in the relationship since the military victory over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020.
Next month Antalya hosts COP31, Nov. 9-20. Ankara has sent two invitations to Cyprus: one, through the conference organizers, to the president of the Republic of Cyprus, and one, from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
With the investment fund scandal still unfolding, a new allegation has come to light: companies were asked for bribes to secure approval from the Capital Markets Board (SPK) to go public.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat has taken ownership for managing the EU’s “Made in Europe” initiative, which threatens Turkey with being shut out from the bloc’s new rules on supply chains and public procurement schemes.
Garanti BBVA, the high-street bank majority-owned by Spain’s BBVA, has agreed to pay a fine of 1.55 billion liras ($31.8 million) after settling an antitrust investigation into labor market practices, the lender disclosed on the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP).
A Turkish court has imposed a blackout on news reports concerning a lucrative deal involving the husband of controversial Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu, citing 'national security and public order.'
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.
In a surprising move, former Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek — long accused of corruption but never prosecuted — has been summoned to testify before the Organized Crime Investigation Bureau of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Sept. 4.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, 67, for allegedly insulting the president in a video recorded five years ago but circulated recently on social media.
When the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office summoned the city’s former mayor, Melih Gökçek, to testify over his family members' assets and accounts in Germany, the first reaction was silence.
Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın made a visit to Athens on Aug. 28, meeting his Greek counterpart Themistoklis Demiris, head of the National Intelligence Service (EYP), at its headquarters, and the trip was publicized to media with a week delay, as a rare example.