Erdogan at Crossroads Once More Turkey's local elections on March 31st surprisingly saved Turkey's opposition from obsolescence and restored its credibility, severely damaged after last year's disappointing presidential elections. For the first time in two decades, the AKP found itself in the second position in an election. Moreover, the CHP's re-elected mayor of Istanbul, Imamoğlu, proved his political skills as a charismatic leader capable of challenging President Erdoğan. Meanwhile, the AKP and its Islamist and nationalist allies have clearly lost votes, signaling discontent among Erdoğan's base. This new reality of Turkish politics leaves Erdoğan with two alternative paths: one that aims to save the economy and thus remove one of the root causes of discontent, or a more authoritarian one that seeks to curb dissent through more oppression. Both paths have their own risks and opportunities for Erdoğan.

Ecevit’s memories is useful to understand contemporary CHP’s support for Erdogan’s military operations in Syria and Iraq or anti-American stance. It shows that strategic autonomy in foreign policy, military expansionism, and transactionalism in Turkish-American relations have an appeal across ideologies in Turkey’s political landscape.

What does explain this politically, economically, and strategically costly decision that has not brought any added value to Turkey’s military power or defense? Lisel Hintz and David E. Banks argues that S-400s, thanks to the government propaganda, have turned into a political symbol of defiance against the U.S. and strategic autonomy so much that President Erdogan could not retract his S-400 decision. Although Hintz and Banks’ article provides a strong theoretical background to understand Ankara’s S-400 decision, the issue still provides opportunities for new studies.

Erdogan's blackmailing diplomacy led to a loss of credibility and a lack of trust about Turkey. While Turkey's demands were mostly rejected, it eventually gave up its leverage occasionally with modest gains.

War-weary Europe is anxiously waiting for a sign of an end to the conflict in Ukraine. In 2023, the world witnessed ongoing brutal Russian aggressions, stiff Ukrainian resistance and an unsuccessful counterattack, and indecisive actions by the United States that worried European leaders who continue to support Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia. As the war persists, its political and economic toll on the continent has escalated.

In 2023, Turkey completed the year without witnessing significant shifts in its domestic politics and foreign policy. The fusion of authoritarianism with crony capitalism and fluctuations in diplomatic relations persisted, reflecting a continuity with previous years.

28 Temmuz 2024 Pazar günü Venezuela'da gerçekleştirilen tek turlu başkanlık seçimi sonuçlarını instituDE üyesi ve Latin Amerika Uzmanı Dr. İmdat Öner ile instituDE Dış Politika Analisti Haşim Tekineş değerlendirdiler.

Orta Doğu uzmanı Mehmet Akif Koç ve instituDE Dış Politika Analisti Haşim Tekineş İran'ın yeni cumhurbaşkanı Mesud Pezişkiyân'ı, reformist olup olmadığını, nasıl bir profile sahip olduğunu, seçim sonuçlarına dair çeşitli detayları ve bir sonraki İran ruhani lideri dahil olmak üzere pek çok hususu ele aldılar.

ran ve Ortadoğu uzmanı Mehmet Akif Koç ve instituDE politika analisti Haşim Tekineş'in 19 Mayıs Pazar akşamı saat 20.00'den itibaren gerçekleştirdikleri, İran cumhurbaşkanı Reisi'nin helikopter kazası hakkındaki twitter Space yayınımızın kaydıdır.

18 Ekim Çarşamba günü Ömer Güler, Enes Esen, Servet Akman, Haşim Tekineş ve İmdat Öner İsrail-Hamas Savaşı'na dair hastane saldırısı dahil son gelişmeleri, Gazze'ye kara harekatını, Türkiye'nin gelişmelere dair tepkilerini ve savaşın küresel ve bölgesel sonuçlarını Twitter Space yayınında ele aldılar.

Regional backlash against Washington’s unilateral interventionist policies, viewing the region only through security lenses, lack of social, economic, and cultural policies, and U.S. support for authoritarian regimes has created the conditions for conspiracy theories such as BOP.

As the U.S. presidential elections loom later this year, current polls point to the possibility of another term for Donald Trump. Given the tumultuous impact of Trump’s previous presidency, this prospect raises significant concerns for the Middle East.

Two major earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5, rocked southeast Turkey within 10 hours on February 6. They struck a large area including 10 provinces with 13 million people. Winter conditions posed a further challenge to recovering thousands of survivors trapped under debris and slowed down search and rescue operations. Thus, the earthquakes caused a devastating human tragedy. However, they also became a regime test that revealed the scale of misgovernment and the consequences of crony capitalism in Turkey – eliciting reactions from victims and citizens alike.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has established his authoritarian regime by eliminating his rivals one by one throughout the last two decades. In his battles with the Kemalist generals, Gulenists, and Kurds, Erdoğan has come out victorious at every turn. But although his rule is incontestable today, he still shares the fruits of his victories with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)—his only remaining ally for the past five years.

Atransactional relationship is increasingly seen as the only solution for the future of U.S.-Turkey relations. As the relationship has lost its values-based spirit and diplomatic crises have exhausted both sides, a business-like understanding has emerged as a last attempt to keep the relationship alive. Yet, as even transactional relations have significant shortcomings, Washington and Ankara should be prepared for a messy divorce.

For U.S. policymakers, it will be necessary to determine how best to reconfigure American strategy in the Middle East in an age of new hegemonic struggles. From the U.S. perspective, withdrawal or retreat from the region does not necessarily reflect the true nature of the policy change. Regional actors, however, are likely to have the opposite perspective—that the United States is much less interested in Middle Eastern regional issues than it has been in the past.

Evolution of Erdoğan's Victory Speeches From 2002 to 2023

Rusya’nın Ukrayna’yı işgali büyük güçler arasında son yıllarda artan rekabetin nerelere varabileceğini çok açık bir şekilde herkese göstermiş oldu. Y kuşağının tarih kitaplarından okuduğu felaket senaryolarının günümüzde de pekâlâ yaşanabileceğini görmüş olduk.