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Turkey: Latest news, analysis, video interviews, video reports

Is Turkey headed for the end of the Erdoğan era?

Is Turkey headed for the end of the Erdoğan era?

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his party, AKP, will face the most difficult elections in the last twenty years. The economic crisis, the February 6 earthquake, the opposition coalition and the possible mobilization of the Kurds diminish Erdoğan's chances of staying in power. The end of the Erdoğan era does not mean that Turkey will become a liberal democracy – but there is a chance that it will

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
24 Mar 2023
Why the February 6 quake could undermine the Erdoğan regime and Turkey’s aggressive foreign policy

Why the February 6 quake could undermine the Erdoğan regime and Turkey’s aggressive foreign policy

The February 6 quake could deal a heavy blow to the administration led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, commonly seen as the man responsible for the disregard of building safety codes. The Turkish president came under heavy criticism for the authorities’ sluggish response to this disaster, which affected primarily the Kurds and the Alevi. The quake might equally exert a heavy toll on Turkey’s foreign policy, considering that Ankara’s traditional enemies have shown solidarity with the Turkish people.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
28 Feb 2023
The year Turkey celebrates its centennial, Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might deal a deadly blow to Atatürk’s republic

The year Turkey celebrates its centennial, Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might deal a deadly blow to Atatürk’s republic

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is trying to consolidate his regime by jockeying a third term at the helm of the country. The general elections this spring will take place amidst a severe economic crisis. To increase their odds, the Islamists have resorted to electoral handouts and sabotaging the opposition. The elections take place in a very special year: 2023 marks a century since Mustaka Kemal Atatürk proclaimed the republic, a republic which today is facing a full-blown crisis and is drifting further away from the vision of its founder.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
27 Jan 2023
The stake of Turkey’s operations in Syria: what Erdoğan has to gain and Putin’s agenda

The stake of Turkey’s operations in Syria: what Erdoğan has to gain and Putin’s agenda

Turkey has bombed Kurdish positions in Iraq and Syria in response to the bomb attack in Istanbul, warning this is just the beginning. A wider operation in Syria would help the Erdoğan regime draw attention away from the country’s economic troubles. Besides, it might also be a first step towards solving the refugee crisis. Russia, a country involved in the Syrian conflict, could turn a blind eye to Ankara’s moves because it is interested in exporting natural gas via pipelines transiting Turkey.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
23 Nov 2022
Dan Stoenescu, Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union to Syria: “The situation in Ukraine is also affecting Syria”

Dan Stoenescu, Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union to Syria: “The situation in Ukraine is also affecting Syria”

Syria remains a country ravaged by conflict and a deep humanitarian crisis, a place of conflicting interests of multiple state and non-state actors, says the Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union to Syria, Dan Stoenescu*. In an interview for TVR and Veridica, Dan Stoenescu explained that, although it doesn’t recognize the Assad regime, the EU keeps communication channels open in order to provide assistance to the Syrian people. The EU official also spoke about the link between the war in Syria and the one in Ukraine.

Marian Voicu
Marian Voicu
04 Nov 2022
Are Turkey and Greece headed for war?

Are Turkey and Greece headed for war?

The relationship between Turkey and Greece is once again marked by tension, and Ankara's tough statements have made some observers wonder if this time there will be military confrontations. However, the current crisis seems to be related to the efforts made by the regime in Ankara to divert attention from domestic problems rather than to the old rivalry between the two countries.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
16 Sep 2022
The threat of a new Turkish offensive in northern Syria - a view from Mardin

The threat of a new Turkish offensive in northern Syria - a view from Mardin

Turkey is threatening with a new offensive in Syria, invoking the danger of Kurdish terrorism. This danger appears to be low in Mardin, near the Kurdish-Syrian border, which confirms expert analyses according to which the Erdoğan regime is in fact trying to divert attention from the economic crisis it is facing.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
28 Jun 2022
End of the line for “European Turkey”? The link between Erdoğan’s shift to authoritarianism, Turkish nationalism and blocking the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden

End of the line for “European Turkey”? The link between Erdoğan’s shift to authoritarianism, Turkish nationalism and blocking the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden

Turkey’s threats to veto Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession were interpreted as an attempt to secure certain concessions from the West in the context of economic difficulties at home. The previous policies of the Erdoğan administration – and of post-Ottoman Turkey in general – suggest that Ankara is actually pushing for more: it wants to impose its own agenda and perception over its allies.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
19 May 2022
Why Erdogan's Turkey will not be able to rebuild its relations with its Western allies

Why Erdogan's Turkey will not be able to rebuild its relations with its Western allies

More and more international observers wonder if Turkish leaders, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in particular, are truly capable of implementing a change. There are some signs indicating this might be possible, although the more knowledgeable pundits remain sceptic, claiming that a return to the reformist agenda of the early years of the government’s mandate (2002-2009) is impossible.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
21 Apr 2022
The war in Ukraine is shaping Turkey’s policy-making, although a break with Russia is out of the question

The war in Ukraine is shaping Turkey’s policy-making, although a break with Russia is out of the question

Against the backdrop of a worsening economic crisis, Turkey is trying to reconnect with its former allies, after years of pushing them away with its aggresive rhetoric and policies. However, Ankara must also take into account its relationship with Russia, given that it is dependent on that country for energy, agricultural products, tourism and trade.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
23 Mar 2022
Curbing the EU’s dependency on Russia: the gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean

Curbing the EU’s dependency on Russia: the gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean

The discovery in recent years of significant deposits of natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean area has triggered a competition with possible long-term ramifications, not just for countries that own the deposits in question, but also on the European Union’s strategic sovereignty.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
28 Jan 2022
FAKE NEWS: Turkey stands for a non-conflictual approach, while Romania and Poland favor a militaristic one

FAKE NEWS: Turkey stands for a non-conflictual approach, while Romania and Poland favor a militaristic one

Turkey’s diplomacy is non-conflictual, unlike that of Romania and Poland, the Kremlin’s loudspeaker, Sputnick, writes. The publication presents the Romania – Poland – Turkey Trilateral meeting in Bucharest from its own perspective and makes up non-existent fractures in the approaches of the three countries.

Cătălin Gomboș
Cătălin Gomboș
24 Apr 2021
Syria, the country abandoned to darkness

Syria, the country abandoned to darkness

February 25 marked the first military operation ordered by president Joe Biden. US forces bombed targets in Syria used by Iran-led militias. The airstrike has brought back in the limelight a nearly forgotten war, recalling the complexity of this conflict with regional ramifications.

Cătălin Gomboș
Cătălin Gomboș
04 Mar 2021
Demos vs. state in the digital arena: the case of Turkey

Demos vs. state in the digital arena: the case of Turkey

Ever since the appearance of the Internet and the advancement of the World Wide Web, in the 1990s, it was generally thought that they would decisively contribute to the global democratisation of information. And this they initially did, the demos all over the world gaining unprecedented access to an immense variety of information in all fields of human thinking and action. However, governments and inter-governmental organisations also entered this digital arena and their first instinct was to try to control it.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
23 Feb 2021
Turkey: seeking a way out of the crisis, Erdoğan is vowing to return to democracy

Turkey: seeking a way out of the crisis, Erdoğan is vowing to return to democracy

In November 2020, the Turkish government has started to spread a narrative of return to democracy, rule of law and citizens' rights. The main reason for this new apparent U-turn is the degradation of the Turkish economy and, in effect, the diminishing popularity of the regime.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
26 Jan 2021
Nationalist metanarrative and false sub-narratives in Turkey

Nationalist metanarrative and false sub-narratives in Turkey

Conspiracy theories in a nationalistic key are being used for decades to justify the primacy of the Turkish state, and lately, of the Erdoğan regime.

Dragoș Mateescu
Dragoș Mateescu
03 Dec 2020