Opinions - Turkey

Turkey Between Washington and Beijing: Erdoğan’s Calculated Visit to China

Turkey Between Washington and Beijing: Erdoğan’s Calculated Visit to China

by Haşim Tekineş, published on 8 September 2025
Today, Turkey’s overtures to non-Western initiatives are no longer surprising to the US and Europe. Yet, what does this visit say about Turkey’s place in the shifting balance between the United States and China?
Op-Ed: The Perils of AI-Driven Policing in Turkey

Op-Ed: The Perils of AI-Driven Policing in Turkey

by Yasir Gökçe, published on 27 August 2025
In recent years, Turkey has embarked on a sweeping integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into law enforcement and justice systems. From automated traffic enforcement to predictive criminal analytics, these systems promise efficiency—but at what cost to civil liberties, transparency, and the rule of law?
Azerbaijan–Armenia Deal is Also a Win for Turkey

Azerbaijan–Armenia Deal is Also a Win for Turkey

by Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 8 Augustus 2025
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will sign today a peace agreement at the White House in Washington. This agreement reflects a notable geopolitical shift in the South Caucasus. With Russia’s diminished influence in the region following the wars in Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine, Turkey is well placed to expand its influence in the Caucasus.
Why Turkey Terminated the Pipeline Agreement With Iraq

Why Turkey Terminated the Pipeline Agreement With Iraq

by Mustafa Enes Esen, pulished on 26 July 2025
Turkish President Erdoğan announced this week that Turkey would terminate its pipeline agreement with Iraq, effective in one year. The move followed a painful agreement between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over revenue-sharing. This would normally have led to the reopening of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which was shut down following an arbitration ruling against Turkey in March 2023.
Turkey’s Growing Alignment with Pakistan Risks Friction with India

Turkey’s Growing Alignment with Pakistan Risks Friction with India

by Enes Esen, published on 29 May 2025
India’s perception is that Ankara is not only favoring Islamabad diplomatically, but also materially bolstering its defense capacity in ways that impact the regional military balance. For Turkey, engaging Pakistan should not necessarily come at the expense of ties with India. Yet Turkey’s current policy risks reinforcing precisely that trajectory.
KRG’s Energy Deals Will Likely Proceed Without a Turkish Route

KRG’s Energy Deals Will Likely Proceed Without a Turkish Route

by Enes Esen, published on 23 May 2025
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has announced a landmark deal with two American companies, HKN Energy and WesternZagros, to develop oil and gas fields in northern Iraq. Nonetheless, the government in Baghdad promptly declared the deal null and void, while the KRG maintained that it was both legal and legitimate under Iraq’s constitution.

Reports - Turkey

Electrifying Turkey's Roads: EV Adoption Scenarios & Their Impact on Oil Imports

Electrifying Turkey's Roads: EV Adoption Scenarios & Their Impact on Oil Imports

by Baki Kaya, Ömer Güler, Harun Güngör, and Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 10 September 2025
This study evaluates, through long-term projections to 2053, the potential impact of increased EV penetration on Turkey’s energy landscape. It provides a comparative assessment of how changes in the share of EVs within the total vehicle fleet, across several scenario frameworks, could influence fuel demand and petroleum import volumes. A second, closely related objective is to measure the scale of Turkey’s oil dependency in order to establish a basis for examining its policy implications.
Geopolitical Constraints of Turkey's Energy Hub Ambitions

Geopolitical Constraints of Turkey's Energy Hub Ambitions

by Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 8 July 2025
This study focuses on the geopolitical dimensions and constraints shaping Turkey’s ambition to become a natural gas hub. The emphasis is on Turkey’s diplomatic relations with key supplier countries, the political instability across the wider Middle East, and the limited capacity of neighboring states to produce and export gas reliably—factors that collectively can make or undermine Turkey’s hub ambitions.
MODERNIZING THE TURKEY–EU CUSTOMS UNION: ISSUES AND PROSPECTS

MODERNIZING THE TURKEY–EU CUSTOMS UNION: ISSUES AND PROSPECTS

by instituDE, published in March 2025
The Turkey–EU Customs Union, established in 1995, has been a defining feature of trade relations between Turkey and the European Union. Over the past three decades, the global economic landscape has evolved significantly, necessitating a modernization of the agreement to address new trade realities, regulatory developments, and emerging geopolitical challenges.
TURKEY‘S MASS PURGE AS VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC SERVICE IN ICCPR

TURKEY‘S MASS PURGE AS VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC SERVICE IN ICCPR

by instituDE, published on 23 October 2024
'A gift from God' was one of Erdoğan's first descriptions related to coup attempt in July 15. At first no one realized that God's gift meant a chaotic environment in which he needed to declare a national emergency with no checks and balances and then transform Türkiye’s parliamentary democracy into an executive presidency.
JUDICIAL CORRUPTION IN TÜRKİYE

JUDICIAL CORRUPTION IN TÜRKİYE

by instituDE and Arrested Lawyers, published on October 2024
This submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) highlights severe issues undermining the integrity of Türkiye's judiciary, particularly focusing on rampant judicial corruption and impunity as well as human rights abuses which they facilitate. Based on the most recent incidents of corruption concerning members of the judiciary who serve in courts in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara, this report seeks to examine the high-level corruption within the judiciary and the Turkish government’s failure or even willful ignorance in addressing it.
TURKEY'S GROWING ROLE IN GLOBAL COCAINE TRAFFICKING

TURKEY'S GROWING ROLE IN GLOBAL COCAINE TRAFFICKING

by Dr. İmdat Öner, Halil Çavuş, Ömer Güler and Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 17 September 2024
This report focuses on Turkey's prominence as an emerging market for cocaine trafficking and organized crime in the last decade. Cocaine production in Latin America has dramatically increased since 2013, and Turkey’s status as an emerging market has attracted the attention of Latin American government officials on the front lines of the cocaine trade.

Videos - Turkey

AİHM'den Yunanistan Puschbacklerine İhlal Kararı | Yasak Başvurusu Büyük Dairede

January 8, 2025
by Haşim Tekineş and Hakan Kaplankaya, published on 8 January 2025
Bu yayınımızda insan hakları uzmanı Hakan Kaplankaya ve instituDE analisti Haşim Tekineş AİHM'in Yunanistan'ın Türkiye'ye geri ittiği sığınmacılar hakkında verdiği yeni ihlal kararını, Yasak başvurusunun Büyük Daire'ye sevkedilmesini ele aldılar.

Halep Düştü! Dengeler Değişti, Türkiye’yi Ne Bekliyor?

December 2, 2024
Halep'in düşmesi ne anlama geliyor? Suriye yeniden dünya gündemine oturdu. Esad rejimi son yıllarda elde ettiği kazanımları kaybetmiş oldu. Peki bu Türkiye'nin hesaplamalarını nasıl etkileyecek? Ankara - Şam normalleşme girişimleri bu gelişmeden nasıl etkilenecek? Türkiye - Rusya ilişkileri ve Türkiye - İran ilişkileri nereye evrilecek? Bu gelimeleri ve daha fazlasını instituDE'den Dış Politika Analisti Haşim Tekineş sizler için analiz etti.

Erdoğan'dan Trump Hazırlıkları

November 22, 2024
instituDE'nin bu yayınında Ali Dinçer ve Haşim Tekineş, ABD Başkanlık seçimlerini kazanan Yeni Başkan Donald Trump'la şekillenecek ABD dış politikasında ne gibi değişiklikler olacağını, Ortadoğu'daki ülkelerin Trump'a yönelik politika değişiklerini, Erdoğan'ın da Trump yönetimine yönelik dış poliitika hazırlıklarını, İsrail-Hamas ekseninde Türkiye'nin duruşunu ve Rusya-Ukrayna savaşında son dönemde yaşanan gelişmelerle savaşan taraflara dışardan verilen destekleri ve olası sonuçlarını ele aldılar.

İran'a Karşı Türkiye-İsrail Cephesi mi?

October 31, 2024
Bu yayınımızda Ali Dinçer ve Haşim Tekineş Türkiye'de güdeme gelen gelişmeleri okumanın ve anlamlandırmanın güçlüğünü, çözüm süreci konuşuluyorken Tusaş'a yönelik PKK saldırısı yaşanması ve CHPli Esenyurt Belediye Başkanı'nın gözlatın alınarak yerine kayyum atanmasını, bu gelişmelere dair dış etkenleri, İran'ı zayıflatan gelişmeler karşısında Türkiye'nin konumlanma ve yeni olgulara hazırlanma olasılığını, İsrail'in İran'a yönelik misilleme saldırısını ve 5 Kasım'da yapılacak ABD başkanlık seçimlerinde son durumu ele aldılar.

Ankara'nın Göbeğinde Terör

October 24, 2024
instituDE'nin bu yayınında Ali Dinçer ve Haşim Tekineş, TUSAŞ'a yönelik terör saldırısını, Türkiye'nin BRICS üyelik başvurusunu ve İsrail'in Hamas ve Hizbullah'a yönelik savaşlarına dair vaziyeti ele aldılar.

Erdoğan ve Bahçeli Cepheyi Mi Guçlendiriyor?

October 18, 2024
by Ali Dinçer and Haşim Tekineş, published on 18 October 2024
Bu hafta Ali Dinçer ve Haşim Tekineş Türkiye'de yeniden konuşulmaya başlayan çözüm süreci mevzuunu, konunun Orta Doğu'daki şiddet sarmalı ile irtibatını, AB finansmanı ile Türkiye'deki geri gönderme merkezlerinde yaşanan hak ihlallerini ve Kanada-Hindistan arasındaki diplomatik krizi ele aldılar.