An ideological showdown over the Gezi riots

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has harshly criticized the Gezi Park riots in his recent public speeches, as he asked Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairperson, whether the main opposition leader would contest the presidential election.

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An ideological showdown over the Gezi riots
CHP's Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu crosses the line

CHP's Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu crosses the line

It remains unclear who grants legitimacy to whom around the 'table for six.' The fact that the three conservative fringe parties stand with the CHP discourages undecided conservatives from voting for them. To be on the same side with the CHP, in turn, offers minor benefits to them from other voter blocs. Furthermore, judging by the reaction of CHP supporters, anyone around the 'table for six' must accept the 'joint candidacy' of the main opposition’s candidate of choice. The fact that Kılıçdaroğlu will be that candidate, too, is about to be confirmed.

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In some social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, several hashtags (helpturkey, globalcall) claiming that the Turkish government cannot cope with the wildfires or deal with other issues were used to show the Turkish state as desperate and incompetent.

Turkey has made great efforts to reach its current position as a strong country, especially under President Erdoğan's government. The country is no longer a docile and passive ally of the West

In order for normalization initiatives to bear fruit, ambassadors must be appointed or an agreement on maritime jurisdiction areas must be signed, which are, in fact, options that are not too far-fetched

The United States is going through a particularly interesting period. The two-month presidential transition allowed for a flare-up of tensions unseen in two centuries.

Arab Spring: A flashback to past 10 years

The wave of democratization, which began with the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, took down the authoritarian leaders of Egypt, Libya and Yemen. Whereas the uprising in Bahrain was crushed thanks to Saudi Arabia’s military intervention, Iran and Russia ensured the survival of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria.

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Arab Spring A flashback to past 10 years
Reform in Turkey but how

Reform in Turkey – but how?

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled the framework for his administration’s reform agenda at the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) parliamentary meeting last week. That policy initiative seeks to promote more production, encourage new investments and create new jobs – as well as adopt new regulations for the judiciary and human rights. The administration thus seeks to boost confidence in the market economy and the rule of law.

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The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and its chairperson, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have completed their 18th year in government. It is an exceptionally long period for continuous rule by a single-party government in electoral political systems.

Turkey’s main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has become embroiled in internal strife over the distinction between 'Mustafa Kemal' and 'Atatürk', in reference to the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s plan to remove Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from power went down in the history of Turkish-U.S. relations. The fact that he made that statement some eight months ago does not make the situation any less grave. After all, those controversial words were not uttered by an inexperienced presidential candidate with no idea about foreign policy. Biden, who was President Barack Obama’s vice president, unveiled a thought-out and clear policy on Turkey.

The Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) opponents suffer from a common condition: failing to understand the nature of power, no matter how hard they try. They cannot grasp the practice of seizing and preserving political power with an eye on internal and external factors. For a long time, I attributed that shortcoming to the opposition’s prolonged lack of proximity to power. I imagined that they simply had no experience with the difficulty of striking a healthy balance between the development and implementation of policy and the generation of legitimacy needed to maintain one’s power. I was obviously aware that their commitment to neo-nationalist, Kemalist and leftists ideologies effectively blinded them, perpetuating their weakness.

The outrage over George Floyd’s death at the hands of a racist police officer, which triggered riots in 140 cities across the United States and forced President Donald Trump to threaten military action against protestors, highlighted the importance of "the streets." Attempts to reshape politics through street protests have repeatedly captured the world’s attention over the last three decades. The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, along with other anti-communist uprisings across Eastern Europe, was hailed as a new wave of democratization. Although that revolution resulted in Czechoslovakia’s partition, most observers celebrated its peaceful nature.

There is an ongoing debate in Turkey over the potential exclusion of newly formed political parties, namely the Future Party (GP) and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), from a potential early election. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairman, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, already pledged to get those parties on the ballot by "loaning" parliamentarians to them.

Turkey’s top imam, Ali Erbaş, faces criticism for stating that “Islam condemns homosexuality” and warning that adultery is haram, or forbidden, in his Friday sermon. It is no secret that homosexuals around the world seek recognition and all Abrahamic religions view homosexuality as “perversion.”

The CHP's electoral alliance with the Good Party (İP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) scored victories in Istanbul and Ankara, breathing new life into Turkey's political opposition. Opposition figures are not yet over the anger that built up over many losing election cycles, but they have become cocky in light of recent wins.

Turkey's foreign policy at the moment is full of hot topics, including the S-400 air defense system agreement, the country's removal from the F-35 fighter jet program, potential U.S. sanctions, the Eastern Mediterranean and northern Syria. How those issues are resolved could determine the next four years of Turkish policy.

There is no shortage of important items on Turkey's political agenda. Ahead of Sunday's Istanbul rerun, the Turkish people are focused on Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's death, the United Nations Human Rights Council report on the Jamal Khashoggi murder, the start of drilling efforts in the Eastern Mediterranean, the sentences being handed down in coup trials, the latest polling numbers, Republican People's Party (CHP) mayoral candidate Ekrem Imamoğlu's secret meeting with the moderator of the election debate and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan weighing in on the mayoral race.

The Western media's interest in Turkey has steadily increased, and this has two dimensions. First, they are establishing new media outlets in Turkey and becoming entrenched in the domestic market. Lately, the launch of a joint Turkish-language YouTube channel called +90 by the public international broadcasters of Germany, France, Britain and the U.S. has drawn attention. Another interesting development was the launch of a Turkish news website by the British online newspaper, The Independent.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled his administration's new judicial reform package on Thursday.

It began on Nov. 17, 2018 as a protest against fuel price rises and quickly evolved into a middle-class revolt and subsequently into a movement against French President Emmanuel Macron, who is seen as "favoring the bosses." It spread across France with university students and even high school students joining in protests.