Turkish foreign policy after the local elections
The government sees the post-election years as an opportunity to follow a more proactive foreign policy and implement structural reforms in the economy
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How to tackle the remnants of Daesh
As the last remaining Daesh territory is on the verge of elimination, a worrying number of Daesh militants, mostly women and their children, have surrendered themselves to the People's Protection Units (YPG).
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Turkey's local election campaigning took on the tone and tenor of general elections this year, and survival was the predominant theme in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's campaign discourse.
The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) received the 43.16 percent of the vote in the local elections of 2014, the highest of all participating parties. For the local elections of March 31, it received 45 percent, increasing 2 percent, and came out as the clear victor again. However, the country's major cities, such as Istanbul and Ankara, voted differently in the majority, which shows the power of the legitimate election rallies in Turkey.
People went to the polls on Sunday to elect the local administrators for the cities and municipalities around Turkey. For the last two months, political parties campaigned extensively throughout Turkey. The high voter turnout rate again proved the Turkish people's commitment to democracy and their participation in this democratic process. While these sentences were written, the vote count was still going on.
Turkey will hold municipal elections tomorrow. The People's Alliance and the Nation Alliance have worked very hard to win over undecided voters and maximize turnout.
How Sunday's vote may reshape Turkish politics
If the People's Alliance succeeds in the elections, the AK Party and the MHP may deepen their ties and continue to institutionalize the new political system, buoyed by this enthusiasm
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A toxic mix of white supremacy and Christian Zionism
All eyes in Turkey are set on this month's municipal elections, yet a significant transformation is underway in the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump, whose Jerusalem move drew ire, recognized Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights in a radical overhaul of U.S. foreign policy.
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When the French and the British carved up the Middle East, the Golan Heights was part of the French mandate. It was not part of the Palestinian territories, where the Israelis claimed their authority. And after the mandate was abolished for the current nation-states, the Golan Heights was naturally left for Syria.
Local elections in Turkey are taking on the character of general elections as foreign policy comes to dominate the conversation.
U.S. President Donald Trump took yet another step to legitimize Israeli expansionism after recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital last year. 'After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the state of Israel and regional stability', Trump tweeted. Governments around the world reacted harshly to that decision.
In the last few weeks, we have seen an intensification of debates about Turkey's S-400 purchase in the Western media.
