Turkey

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – US troops in Syria operating north of Manbij have been fired on twice in the last couple of weeks. The attackers are fundamentalist remnants of the Free Syrian Army, backed by Turkey. The US has tried to persuade rebel groups to concentrate their firepower on ISIL […]

Books

A Turkish Woman in the Oedipus Complex: Orhan Pamuk’s “The Red-Haired Woman”

contributors

By Erdağ Göknar | (Los Angeles Review of Books) | – – COULD A CONTEMPORARY STORY of love and vengeance set in Turkey have its roots in ancient myths of patricide and filicide? This is what Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk convincingly contends in his 10th and latest novel, The Red-Haired Woman. The two dominant and […]

Donald Trump

Is Turkey on brink of Invading Syrian Kurds, US BFF?

contributors

TeleSur | – – The Turkish Armed Forces are massing on the Syrian border days after a reshuffle of top brass in the country’s military in anticipation of a potential invasion that could dramatically complicate Syria’s ongoing civil war. Kurdish militia backed by U.S. forces are currently taking part in an assault against the Islamic […]

Feminism

Turkish Women rally re: Abuse by Conservatives over Outfits

contributors

TeleSur | – – Istanbul has been widely viewed as a fairly liberal city for women and the LGBT community. On the weekend, hundreds of Turkish women marched in Istanbul to protest against the abuse meted out from men who demand they dress more conservatively. Women at the “Don’t Mess With My Outfit” March chanted […]

Authoritarianism

Turkish Legislators hold Sit-in to protest Creeping Dictatorship

contributors

TeleSur | – – Under the changes, lawmakers can also vote to ban for three sessions fellow parliamentarians who use expressions such as “Kurdistan” or “Kurdish provinces.” Turkey’s main opposition staged a sit-in late Wednesday to protest proposed changes to parliamentary procedures which they say will restrict lawmakers’ ability to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling […]

Authoritarianism

One Year Later: Why the Purges in Turkey Were Always in the Pipeline

contributors

By Sarphan Uzunoglu. | ( GlobalVoices.org ) | – – When it comes to Turkey, representatives of European Union countries—aided and abetted by Turkish liberals who got the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) wrong to begin with—are in a state of denial and shock. Their distress is rooted in the idea that prior to […]

Turkey

Turkey’s Emboldened Opposition

contributors

By Sinan Ülgen | (Project Syndicate) | – – ISTANBUL – In Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has been working to centralize political power, opposition parties have lately had few reasons to be optimistic. This month’s massive rally in Istanbul was a rare exception. On July 9, after walking for 25 days from […]

Authoritarianism

Turkey: Erdogan Marks Coup anniversary with more Crackdowns

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey commemorated on Saturday the anniversary of the failed coup in that country. The coup attempt was genuinely unpopular. Erdogan blames it on the Gulen movement, a shadowy cult-like organization that for years was allied with Erdogan. But in the aftermath, Erdogan […]