Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The government revealed its new Medium-Term Program (OVP) covering 2027–2029, outlining macroeconomic targets that analysts view as unusually realistic while hinting at election preparations for 2027.
The Trump administration has handed NATO allies a list of questions within the framework of an ongoing six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe.
Erdoğan meets Putin in Bishkek, 'privileged partner' praised anew, Akkuyu's first reactor nears go-time, more nuclear deals in view.
Two parties that once stood as rivals, both claiming the legacy of Necmettin Erbakan — the founding leader of political Islam in Turkey under the name of National View— are continuing merger talks.
The “framework law” that will provide the legal basis for the PKK’s disarmament process appears set to be enacted after nearly five months of waiting. Öcalan’s view that “even if it is incomplete and inadequate, a step needs to be taken” proved instrumental in overcoming the disputes surrounding the law. In a sense, it was Öcalan who untied the knot.
A rift within the ruling AKP divulged to public view after Tamar Tanrıyar — a social media phenomenon, a Turkish-Armenian known mainly as the wife of a former celebrity journalist and the owner of a small television channel — released a video targeting pro-government Turkuvaz Media Group that owns Sabah newspaper and ATV television channel.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek has staked his reputation on a sweeping review of Turkey's unsolved murders — a calculated move that appears designed as much to rehabilitate the judiciary's battered image as to deliver justice.
Efforts by conservative and right-wing parties to build a “third way” outside the ruling and main opposition blocs are gaining momentum, as Saadet Party and YRP — both rooted in Turkey’s first political Islamist tradition, the National View (Milli Görüş) shaped by Necmettin Erbakan — step up talks on election cooperation. The renewed contacts signal a shift in relations between the two parties, which had previously been at odds over the movement’s legacy following the founding of YRP in 2018. This time, the talks focus on bringing together Saadet Party, YRP, Gelecek Party and DEVA Party under a common framework, with a broader alliance that could also include the İYİ Party.
Hours before parliament’s “National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission” was to listen to the views of mothers whose children were lost to PKK or state violence, a white Renault 12 Toros — long remembered as a symbol of Turkey’s unsolved killings in the 1990s — was set on fire at Parliament’s Çankaya gate.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reshuffled his Cabinet, appointing Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek as justice minister, replacing Yılmaz Tunç. Gürlek has long been a target of the main opposition, dating back to his tenure as head of Istanbul’s 14th Heavy Penal Court, and more recently since his appointment as chief public prosecutor in October 2024, amid a series of high-profile court cases. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya was also replaced, with Erzurum Governor Mustafa Çiftçi named to the post. Gürlek’s appointment is widely viewed as a promotion
Turkey’s broadcast watchdog has imposed heavy fines on three major television channels over their most-watched programs, citing viewer complaints and alleged violations of family values and public morality.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will give priority to a review of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's detention.