Turkey

ISTANBUL —The Turkish government plans to use Syrian refugees to displace the local Kurdish population in northern Syria. But so far, the scheme isn’t working so well. Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayep Erdoğan announced his intention to settle up to two million refugees now living in Turkey into northern Syria. “We aim to accelerate […]

Israel/ Palestine

In Israel’s Aggressive Colonization of Palestinians, Turkey has a Say

Middle East Monitor

By Dr Adnan Abu Amer | @adnanabuamer1 | – Recent weeks have witnessed a series of developments in Palestine that have produced mixed reactions in Turkey and Israel. Their relationship is back to the level of tension prevalent in the wake of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2010. The most recent […]

Egypt

How Forms of Political Islam failed in Egypt and Turkey

The Conversation

By Ahmet T. Kuru | – Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first-ever democratically elected president, died unexpectedly during a trial in June 2019. He was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an almost century-old Islamist group that rose to power after the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Its political tenure was short. Morsi was deposed by a coup […]

Turkey

On the Civil Struggle of Academics in Turkey: The Peace Petition Signers

contributors

By Iris Agmon | – On January 2016, a small Turkish organization of activists, Academics for Peace (AfP) called the Turkish government to stop its violent assault against the Kurdish towns and areas of Eastern Turkey and return to peace negotiations with the Kurdish leadership towards resolving the prolonged conflict between the Turkish state and […]

Turkey

If Erdogan’s Control over Turkey is Ending, what’s Next for 17th Largest Economy?

The Conversation

By Gary M. Grossman | – Mayoral elections in Turkish cities do not usually grab the world’s attention. But the defeat of the ruling party’s candidate for Istanbul mayor – once during its March election and then again, even more definitively in a June rematch – is a sign that Turkey’s most powerful political party […]

Turkey

Can Turkish Politics be Depolarized?

Global Voices

By Sevgi Yagmur Bulut | – The ruling party is no longer in charge of the largest municipality In the end it was easy. Ekrem Imamoglu, the opposition candidate in Istanbul’s municipal election, swept to victory on June 23 with 54% of the votes, after a rerun ordered by the country’s main electoral authority. The […]

Featured

Erdogan’s Agony: Has Istanbul just begun saving Turkish Democracy?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Istanbul has clapped back for democracy big time, electing as mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu of the secular Republican Peoples Party. İmamoğlu had already won once, last May, with a margin of 15,000 votes. The increasingly dictatorial president, Tayyip Erdogan, of the center-right pro-Islam Justice and Development Party (AKP), argued that the […]

Turkey

Turkey Must Stop Prosecuting, Imprisoning Scholars for Signing a Peace Petition (Yes)

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom Middle East Studies Association of North America, Inc. H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan President of the Republic of Turkey T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Genel Sekreterliği 06689 Çankaya, Ankara Turkey Dear President Erdoğan: We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) of North America and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express […]

Israel

US Blasts Turkey for drilling for NatGas in Cyprus, foiling Israel pipeline deal

Middle East Monitor

The US Ambassador to Cyprus, Judith Garber, has expressed her deep concerns over Turkey’s continued drilling off the coast of Cyprus, and urged Turkey to halt the operations exploring energy reserves in the surrounding waters. Garber made the remarks yesterday evening at the Independence Day reception held at the US Embassy in Nicosia, while in […]