Erdogan

Editor-in-Chief Reilly Barry sits down with US-Turkey relations expert Soner Çağaptay to discuss what is important to keep in mind in the bilateral context following major changing events in Syria and renewed US dialogue on the path ahead for the alliance, Turkey’s role in NATO, and the lasting persona of Erdoğan affecting the relationship.

The decision to support or reject the opposition in its appeals to AKP voters is bound up with its identity as the representative of official secularism, a reputation that has proved difficult to shake. The memory of the divisive 1970s and the terror-filled aftermath of the 1980 coup remains a deeply impactful force conditioning voter behavior. An understanding of these traumatizing years, which left few segments of society untouched, contextualizes the steep odds against which the opposition was forced to contend.

In Turkey, Erdogan tries to distance himself from Ataturk’s legacy even as his actions recreate some of the very policies he decries in his predecessor. Is Erdogan in the process of building a cult of personality that could surpass that of the country’s founding father?

BY TYLER RODGERS Shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day, a lone ISIS-inspired gunman launched an attack at a popular Istanbul nightclub that killed thirty-nine and injured sixty-five more. The rampage signaled an inauspicious start to 2017 in Turkey and offered evidence that the tumultuous events of the previous year—including an attempted military coup and […]

Turkey’s Wikipedia ban is not an isolated incident. It’s just the most recent martyr in the government’s ongoing war against information.

When it comes to IT, tech-savvy Turkey has big potential and ambitions – but could be hampered by government censorship and wary investors.

Russia’s ambassador to Turkey has been killed at an event in Ankara, by a man chanting Islamist slogans and the words, “Don’t forget Aleppo!”

Erdoğan has revealed himself to be the Turkish embodiment of what we in Europe and the US can now appreciate up close: populist, far-right politics.

Embed from Getty Images Since 2011, conflict and political upheavals have rocked the Middle East, challenging traditional alliances and the balance of power in the region. New relationships have developed – most noticeably cooperation between Russia and Iran, particularly in Syria. To look further into this new landscape, JMEPP spoke with Mark N. Katz, professor of government […]

Embed from Getty Images   For Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, enemies are everywhere. His speeches and official comments are littered with references to the hostile elements lurking in Turkey, the so-called “parallel state.” Erdoğan has long used the “parallel state” term to refer to the movement founded in the early 1970s by Turkish Muslim […]

Embed from Getty Images “Turkey is at a crossroads!” has become the rallying cry for commentators as the country grapples with terrorism, a coup attempt, and a reshaping of its domestic and international stances. The cliché has long described Turkey as a country straddling two continents, torn between East and West – its imperial history tied to […]

In Fall 2015, JMEPP Co-Editor-in-Chief Kevin Moss interviewed Amb. Francis Riccardione, the former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Atlantic Council Vice President and Director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Below is an excerpt from the interview on the role of Turkey in serving as a model for democracy in the region. For the full interview, please listen […]