Beyond Turkey: Why July 15 coup attempt is significant

The July 15 failed coup attempt was one of the critical turning points of Turkish history and Turkish democracy. Indeed it was a significant day for many international actors who follow Turkey closely.

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Beyond Turkey Why July 15 coup attempt is significant
Remembering Turkey's July 15 coup attempt

Remembering Turkey's July 15 coup attempt

Five years have passed since the inauspicious coup attempt in Turkey. That fateful night is when the Turkish people took charge of their future, too. Many events will take place this week to tell the epic story of a glorious nation, which stopped tanks with their bare hands.

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There is no election in sight, but Turkey is already talking about the polls. The opposition, which calls for early elections at every opportunity, is in search of a presidential candidate. There is an ongoing discussion about the first round – whether to settle on a joint candidate or let each party field their own contender.

Zülfü Livaneli, a leftist intellectual, recently revealed the dilemmas of the Turkish 'left' and claimed that the CHP is not actually a leftist party. It is a mystery why the debate over the former leader of the main opposition did not come to the current party chairperson

Turkey’s opposition parties are locked in a competition with each other to generate the harshest political rhetoric possible as they attempt to block Kanal Istanbul, a megaproject set to create an artificial waterway between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea.

Turkish and American politicians, media and the public had been waiting for the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Joe Biden on June 14, on the sidelines of the NATO Leaders Summit in Brussels.

Can Joe Biden gather 'the alliance of democracy'?

United States President Joe Biden is back in Europe with a clear message: 'America is back.' His weeklong trip will be devoted to reaching out to fellow Western leaders and discussing ways to strengthen the trans-Atlantic alliance.

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Can Joe Biden gather 'the alliance of democracy'
What are the Turkish opposition's election plans

What are the Turkish opposition's election plans?

For the record, it is not yet clear which political parties will contest the next election as part of the Nation Alliance. Potential changes to Turkey’s electoral system, too, may tilt the balance of power.

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June will be a particularly busy month for Turkey in the international arena. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is due to meet United States President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO Summit on June 14. Later this month, the European Union’s leaders will discuss their “positive agenda” with Turkey.

The national conversation in Turkey remains focused on domestic politics as we get closer and closer to a critical meeting in the international arena where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to meet U.S. President Joe Biden for the first time, on the margins of the June 14 NATO summit.

On May 19, 2021, the European Parliament (EP) published its report on Turkey in which it recommended the suspension of Turkey's European Union accession negotiations.

Turkey’s 2023 elections, which will take place on the republic’s centennial, will be the most critical election in the history of Turkish democracy. You may disagree with that statement, recalling that past elections have been described the same way. You may add that commentators have talked about “historic” elections countless times since 2013.

Washington's gradual disengagement strategy from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has taken a new shape as news continues to arrive from Vienna on the renewed talks related to Iran's nuclear file.

The backlash over U.S. President Joe Biden’s statement on the so-called Armenian 'genocide' continues. Deeming the Turkish government’s reaction insufficient, opposition leaders argued that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lacked 'the courage to hang up on Biden.' Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Good Party (IP) leader Meral Akşener eagerly attacked the government much more fiercely than they reacted to the White House statement. Turkey’s contemporary foreign policy, they said, was actually responsible for what happened.

The statement of U.S. President Joe Biden last Saturday in regards to the 1915 events has generated more tension in bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States. For years now, the issue has been a fault line between the two nations.

One thing is clear: The relationship between Ankara and Washington gradually evolve from the constraints of a traditional alliance. A new modus operandi emerges, which brings together adversity, competition and cooperation.

Turkey’s neighborhood is experiencing a new wave of heightened diplomatic activity, as tensions over Ukraine’s Donbass region de-escalate following a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

veryone responded to the coup-tinted declaration of 104 retired admirals the way I predicted on the state broadcaster TRT’s weekly current affairs show the following morning.

Turkey entered possibly the longest election cycle in its political history. No, I am not referring to opposition leaders taking turns to speculate about an early election. As a matter of fact, I still believe that the election will take place, as scheduled, in 2023. Although that election is two years away, the country’s political agenda suggests that party politics are already in the home stretch.

The European Union leaders summit resulted in minor positive steps and a three-month extension. The description of steps for rapprochement as “gradual, proportional and reversible” was a textbook carrot-and-stick routine. Europe’s method of communication, too, was quite familiar.

In the early 2000s, Turkey made remarkable progress in terms of legal and political reform. At the time, there was a belief in total membership as well momentum for political change and adaptation. The EU side slowed down the process and obstructed Turkey's accession progress.