Justice and Development Party

COVID-19 and Erdogan’s Power Consolidation

Since the rise to power of the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey in 2002, its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used successive crises as pretexts to consolidate power that has...

Why Erdogan Won’t Ask the IMF for Help

Turkey's economy is a mess, but its president won't seek an IMF loan because the conditions would mean giving up his extensive patronage network.

Erdogan’s Fourth Attempt to Take Over Turkey’s Largest Private Bank

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 12 asked the central executive committee of his Justice and Development Party to speed up plans for the government to take over a 28 percent stake in Isbank,...

Turkish Government Scapegoats LGBTI Community for COVID-19 Pandemic

During his Friday sermon marking the first day of Ramadan, Turkey’s top Muslim cleric, Ali Erbas, declared that Islam condemns homosexuality because it “brings illness,” insinuating that same sex...

Turkey’s leak of Istanbul killing shows unlikely marriage with Iran under strain

Senior Turkish officials last week implicated two Iranian diplomats for instigating the November 2019 assassination of Iranian dissident Masoud Molavi Vardanjani in Istanbul. Until recently, Turkish and...

COVID-19 in Turkey

Turkey’s coronavirus epidemic is one of the most serious in the world; it has the second-largest number of confirmed cases in the Middle East, behind only Iran. With the country’s public health crisis...

The Turkish-Qatari Axis Challenges Washington

Turkey and Qatar have become brothers in arms, pursuing joint ventures in illicit finance and promoting extremist ideologies. Washington needs to develop a multipronged response to compel Ankara and Doha to curb their malign conduct.

Turkish Voters – and Putin – Will Restrain Erdogan’s Libya Ambitions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to turn the tide of the civil war in Libya, but the pushback from the Turkish electorate – and Russian President Vladimir Putin – is likely to restrain his...

Brothers in Arms

The Consolidation of the Turkey-Qatar Axis

Erdogan Continues to Reward Iran Sanctions Evaders

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced yesterday that it will sell its 10 percent stake in the Istanbul stock exchange after Turkey named as its CEO a Turkish banker convicted...

Trump’s first mistake in Syria was ever trusting Erdogan at all

President Trump’s deficient understanding of Muslims, many of whom are at the forefront of the fight against radical Islamism, leads him to see threats where none exist. It also prevents him from recognizing...

Erdogan Removes Kurdish Mayors from Office – Again

The Turkish government on Monday removed from office three mayors from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) less than six months into their five-year terms. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,...

Allegations of Iranian Cash Smuggling Stir Up Turkish Parliament

Recent contradictory statements by Turkish officials concerning the fate of a Libyan aircraft suspected of smuggling Iranian cash in 2014 have reignited debate in the Turkish parliament over whether the...

Why Istanbul’s rerun is a battle for the soul of Turkey

Six summers ago, Erdogan’s social engineering efforts triggered their first major backlash in Istanbul. And this March, spring came back to Istanbul.

Scapegoats of Wrath, Subjects of Benevolence: Turkey’s Minorities Under Erdoğan

Erdogan Seizes Kurdish Municipalities – Again

Turkey’s High Election Board (YSK) overturned...

In Stunning Upset, Turkish Opposition Takes Ankara, Istanbul

Turkey’s battered opposition secured key victor...

AKP Eyes Alevi Voters – Again and to No Avail

Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the state should pay the...

Erdoğan’s Interests Converge with Putin in Moldova’s Gagauzia

BACKGROUND: On October 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan touched down in Chisinau for a ...

The Khashoggi Murder and Erdogan’s Naked Truth

Erdogan is a pragmatist, and will likely be looking to maximize both diplomatic and monetary rewards for the evidence he possesses, real or presumed.