Aykan Erdemir

February 4, 2022 | Aykan Erdemir |

Turkey a Step Closer to Suspension From the Council of Europe

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted an interim resolution on Wednesday officially launching infringement proceedings against Turkey for Ankara’s refusal to release Turkish philanthropist...

February 1, 2022 | David Adesnik, John Hardie

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: February

January 19, 2022 | Aykan Erdemir |

Halkbank’s Supreme Court Appeal Will Delay Iran Sanctions-Evasion Case

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that Halkbank, a public lender majority-owned by Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court without having to defend itself in a Manhattan...

January 11, 2022 | David Adesnik |

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: January

January 4, 2022 | Aykan Erdemir |

Erdogan’s Wealth Amnesty Offers Illicit-Finance Loophole for the Eighth Time

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree on December 31 extending the country’s wealth amnesty law. This decree, the eighth episode of wealth amnesties that Erdogan has declared since 2008,...

January 4, 2022 | Aykan Erdemir, Toby Dershowitz

It’s Time to End CNN’s License for CNN Turk’s Hate Content

Turkish media recently reported that CNN International is sending a team to Turkey to “look into its Turkish branch’s broadcasting policy,” which has been “under fire for its...

December 15, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir, Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir

Bottom-Up Hope: Local Governments Bolster Religious Pluralism in Turkey

When powerful states and their proxies intensify religious persecution worldwide and democratic governments under a neo-isolationist spell look the other way, where can vulnerable religious minorities find...

December 12, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir, Hussain Abdul-Hussain

Erdogan hopes to salvage relations with the Gulf to save Turkey’s economy

In a bid to shore up Turkey’s flailing economy and rescue its nosediving currency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Doha on Monday in the hope that his Qatari allies can provide much-needed...

December 3, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir |

Turkey’s Council of Europe Voting Rights and Membership at Risk

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe announced today its decision to begin infringement procedures against Turkey for Ankara’s refusal to release Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala despite...

December 3, 2021 | David Adesnik |

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: November

December 3, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir, Sinan Ciddi, John Hardie

Collusion or Collision?

Turkey-Russia Relations Under Erdogan and Putin

December 2, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir |

Why is Turkey’s President Cutting Interest Rates, Spurring Inflation and Lowering the Value of the Lira?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been unequivocal in his crusade against interest rates, which he denounced in 2018 as “a tool of exploitation” analogous to the “heroin trade” and decried as...

November 29, 2021 | Eric S. Edelman, Aykan Erdemir

Turkey is Collateral Damage in Erdoğan’s Hostage Diplomacy

His erratic policies scare away tourists and foreign capital.

November 26, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir, Paul Gadalla

Russia’s Power Games Extend to the Orthodox Church

Pushing back against Russia’s multipronged assault on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which includes Putin and Erdogan’s coordinated pressure on an institution they see as posing a threat to their respective illiberal projects, requires devising and implementing a concerted transatlantic strategy.

November 16, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir |

Swift trans-Atlantic action kept Turkey from fueling Belarus’ hybrid attacks

Following her meeting with President Biden at the White House last Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated on Twitter that the rising tensions on the Belarus-Poland border...

November 15, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir, Enia Krivine

Erdogan’s veneer of respect conceals blatant antisemitism

Turkish president Erdogan's early political career was characterized by antisemitism which he has tried to move away from in his rise to power.

November 9, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir |

Turkish Airlines in EU Crosshairs for Facilitating Lukashenko’s “Hybrid Warfare” With Belarus Flights

The European Union reportedly has Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national flag carrier, in its crosshairs due to the airline’s alleged role in trafficking migrants to Belarus. If Brussels goes forward with...

November 5, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir |

Biden’s sweet talk won’t curb Erdogan’s abuses in Turkey and beyond

Five weeks after slamming President Joe Biden for snubbing him at the UN General Assembly and threatening to take relations with Russia “much further,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan finally...

November 5, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir |

Turkish Streamers Colluded With Iran-Based Money Launderers: Amazon Subsidiary Twitch Should Take Action

Twenty-four hundred Turkish streamers have reportedly helped launder nearly $10 million for Iran-based credit card theft schemes through the Amazon subsidiary Twitch, a live streaming service that leads...

November 2, 2021 | David Adesnik, John Hardie

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: October