Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

April 30, 2024 | Sinan Ciddi |

Turkey Cannot Be a Mediator in the Gaza War

The Turkish government led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not shy about its enthusiastic support of Hamas. Last month Erdogan shocked observers after declaring “Turkey is a country that stands firmly behind...

April 29, 2024 | Sinan Ciddi, Tyler Stapleton

Erdogan Needs a Reset with the US but Congress Could Stand in the Way

Turkey is attempting the impossible by trying to reestablish a productive relationship with the US while declaring his unreserved support for Hamas, and Congress may be gearing up to push back. After suffering...

March 21, 2024 | Sinan Ciddi |

How Turkey’s opposition media empowers Erdoğan

Complicity in perpetuating authoritarian rule has many faces. Undemocratic governance is propped up by politicians and big businesses as well as a complacent media ecosystem and...

March 5, 2024 | Sinan Ciddi |

Turkey’s Erdoğan Silences Critics with “FETO” Terrorist Label

For 10 years, the Gulen movement has been synonymous with terrorism

June 8, 2023 | Sinan Ciddi |

What to Expect From Erdogan’s Third Term

Erdogan has two priorities: to chart a more assertive presence for Turkey and to leverage Ankara’s position inside Western institutions to make that happen.

May 17, 2023 | Sinan Ciddi |

Turkey’s 2023 Elections: The Anticipated Happened?

Expectation management should have guided analysts’ analysis, which unfortunately gave way to them becoming cheerleaders for the political opposition.

January 20, 2023 | Sinan Ciddi |

Ekrem Imamoglu Is the Best Chance for Turkish Democracy

If the opposition is interested in seeing Turkey restore democracy and the rule of law, it would do well to nominate Imamoglu as its candidate.

June 28, 2022 | Reuel Marc Gerecht |

The Israeli Moment

If anyone is going to derail the Islamic Republic’s regional ambitions, Israel is really the only local counterweight that counts.

October 13, 2021 | Clifford D. May |

Remember Lepanto

A great battle in a war not yet ended

October 2, 2021 | Michael Rubin, Aykan Erdemir

Give Osman Kavala the Nobel Peace Prize

Kavala is a philanthropist who, for decades, has stood up to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and to authoritarians of every stripe inside Turkey.

October 29, 2020 | Reuel Marc Gerecht |

The Saudi Evolution

Fouad Ajami had an odd fondness for Saudi Arabia. He was an Americanized, secular Shiite with European sensibilities who, truth be told, had pretty much burned out on the ugliness of the modern Arab world. He...

August 9, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir |

The Battle of Hagia Sophia: Erdogan’s Conquest of the Turkish Republic

This will set a dangerous precedent, emboldening supremacists not only in Turkey but also in the Middle East and North Africa.

August 4, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir |

Erdogan’s Target in Hagia Sophia Stunt was Ataturk’s Legacy

The re-designation of this iconic building as a mosque was not just a sop to the Turkish President’s Islamist fans – but another blow at the memory of the statesman whose legacy haunts and frustrates him.

May 21, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir |

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,...

February 14, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir |

Erdogan Plots to Take Over Turkey’s Largest Private Bank – For the Third Time

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday reportedly approved plans for Ankara’s Treasury to take a 28 percent stake in Isbank, the country’s largest publicly listed lender. Turkey’s protracted...

December 26, 2019 | Clifford D. May

The war against Christians

It hit a peak in the last century but it's ongoing in the Middle East, Africa and Asia

November 29, 2018 | Aykan Erdemir, John Lechner

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 ...

November 2, 2018 | Reuel Marc Gerecht |

Some ‘Modernizer’

Is Saudi Arabia’s crown prince joining a long line of absolutist rulers in the Middle East?

October 18, 2018 | Aykan Erdemir |

How Conspiracies Sustain One-Man Rule in Turkey and Beyond

By exploiting Turkey’s long-held prejudices, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is able to maintain his grip on power, argues Aykan Erdemir.

October 18, 2018 | Aykan Erdemir |

How Conspiracies Sustain One-Man Rule in Turkey and Beyond

By exploiting Turkey’s long-held prejudices, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is able to maintain his grip on power, argues Aykan Erdemir