Nationalist Movement Party

November 10, 2025 | Sinan Ciddi, William Doran

Erhurman’s election a step towards peace, but beware of Ankara’s appetite

The election of the new Turkish-Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman in the recent presidential election is a blow to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambitions on the island, but his cadre is far from...

September 16, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi, William Doran, Sinan Ciddi

Renewed Fighting Between Kurds and Government Forces Threatens Syria’s Unity

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian forces traded rocket artillery fire near Deir Hafir, east of Aleppo, on September 10. While no military personnel were killed, two civilians died and...

July 24, 2025 | Sinan Ciddi |

Turkey’s Kurds and the Making of Erdoğan’s Autocracy

Turkey’s Kurdish political movement is unexpectedly emerging as a crucial partner in President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ongoing drive to consolidate power and entrench autocratic rule. On...

March 26, 2025 | Sinan Ciddi, Meghan Bodette

Turkey’s Kurdish peace talks: A genuine effort or Erdoğan’s power play?

Erdoğan is arguably negotiating with the Kurds mainly as a means of securing Kurdish parliamentarians’ votes to extend his rule as president

February 13, 2025 | Sinan Ciddi |

Erdoğan’s fourth term, brought to you courtesy of Turkey’s Kurds?

Under current provisions, Turkey’s president can only hold office for two five-year terms

March 14, 2023 | Sinan Ciddi |

Turkey’s Erdogan grasps desperately for Kurdish votes

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expanded the number of political parties affiliated with his “People’s Alliance” to include a far-right Islamist party: Huda Par, a religiously...

November 17, 2022 | Sinan Ciddi |

The Istanbul Terror Attack Is More Than It Seems

The question of who is responsible for the terrorist attack in Istanbul’s Taksim Square is becoming murkier by the day.

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,...

September 29, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir |

Congress Joins European Allies in Targeting Erdogan’s Far-Right Partners

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on September 23 that includes an amendment requiring the secretary of state to submit a report assessing whether Turkey’s Grey Wolves — a far-right militant...

July 30, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir, Sude Akgundogdu

Erdogan Escalates Turkish Campaign to Disenfranchise Six Million Pro-Kurdish Voters

Disenfranchising over 6 million pro-Kurdish voters and pushing some 40,000 party members out of democratic channels will hammer the final nail in the coffin of Turkey’s struggling democracy.

July 2, 2021 | Aykan Erdemir |

The Turkish Laundromat — Erdogan Offers Illicit-Finance Loophole for the Seventh Time

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree on Wednesday extending the country’s wealth amnesty law, which allows individuals and entities to repatriate previously undisclosed offshore assets...

November 24, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir |

Getting Erdogan’s Turkey Right: Reflections on Ambassador Jeffrey’s Exit Interview

In a recent exit interview with Defense One, Ambassador James F. Jeffrey, the outgoing special representative for Syria engagement, asserted that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey poses challenges...

November 9, 2020 | Philip Kowalski, Umut Can Fidan

Erdoğan continues repression of Kurdish political and cultural rights

The year 2020 has been especially difficult for Turkey’s already embattled Kurdish population.  President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) continue to imprison Kurdish...

September 30, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir, Philip Kowalski

‘Blue Homeland’ And The Irredentist Future Of Turkish Foreign Policy

Turkey and Greece, two NATO allies, nearly experienced a full-fledged military conflict in August. Two of their warships collided during a naval standoff over hydrocarbon exploration in the Eastern...

August 21, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir, Philip Kowalski

China Buys Turkey’s Silence on Uyghur Oppression

Turkey has joined the list of majority Muslim countries that have opted for silence in dealing with the one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time.

July 10, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir |

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...

June 14, 2019 | Merve Tahiroglu, Aykan Erdemir

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.

April 19, 2019 | Aykan Erdemir |

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

November 30, 2018 | Aykan Erdemir |

AKP Eyes Alevi Voters – Again and to No Avail

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

July 18, 2018 | Aykan Erdemir, Merve Tahiroglu, Benjamin Weinthal WORLD

The Brunson farce

Turkey’s indictment against Pastor Andrew Brunson reveals why charges against him shouldn’t hold up in any legitimate court.