Turkish opposition's muted response to PKK no longer justifiable

The pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) led Labor and Freedom Alliance officially endorsed Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the head of the main opposition's Republican People's Party (CHP), last week. That they backed the main opposition leader was the worst-kept secret in Türkiye, but it is important to note that they justified their decision with reference to “the triumph against fascism in the most consequential election in the country’s political history.”

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Turkish opposition's muted response to PKK no longer justifiable
Sudanese crisis A new front of 'preventive proxy war'

Sudanese crisis: A new front of 'preventive proxy war'

Considering the devastating effects of new-generation weapons, global powers cannot launch direct wars against each other. Therefore, they prefer to engage in indirect battles, as the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, did during the Cold War. Their proxies fight each other; they control the tide of the war from behind closed doors by procuring military equipment and by providing economic and financial assistance to wage war.

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Terrorist organizations will become more ambitious and voters will grow more concerned unless and until Kılıçdaroğlu publicly pledges to continue the fight against terrorist groups with the same level of determination as the current government. Otherwise, he will face mounting criticism that he could not speak up against terrorists for the sake of “a handful of votes.”

The Biden administration has taken a symbolic yet significant step regarding the F-16 issue.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will run against each other in the 2023 presidential race in Türkiye. It will all boil down to one of the two leading candidates winning over undecided voters. That’s why I believe the final weeks to be extremely important and the race to be head-to-head.

The Syrian regime is using earthquake diplomacy to gain more legitimacy and accelerate the normalization process in the region. Following the earthquake, Egyptian Foreign Minister Shukri met with Assad in Damascus and delivered humanitarian aid to Syria through the regime. The day after the visit of the UAE Foreign Minister al-Nahyan, who is trying to lead the normalization process with Syria, Assad allowed UN aid teams to cross into opposition-controlled areas of Syria. It is no secret that many Arab countries, including the UAE and Egypt, prefer normalizing ties with the Syrian regime. Although the American administration has expressed its opposition to normalization efforts with the Assad regime in the region, there is no indication of serious pressure being exerted on this issue.

HDP influence and Turkish opposition's foreign policy ambiguity

Türkiye will hold the most critical elections in its recent past on May 14, 2023. The haste and increasingly intense rhetoric of electoral alliances and candidates attest to that fact. Before the war of words between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his opponent, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, kicks off in the final stretch, it would be helpful to summarize what each candidate says about the future (and what they refrain from saying).

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HDP influence and Turkish opposition's foreign policy ambiguity
Ince and HDP Factors to consider in first round of

Ince and HDP: Factors to consider in first round of Turkish elections

With nearly 50 days left until the Turkish elections, the People’s Alliance and the Nation Alliance are doing everything possible to win the Presidency in the first round.

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The meetings held by the Turkish delegation during their visit to Washington earlier this week once again showed how necessary constant dialogue is due to the busy agenda of Turkish-American relations. Apart from bilateral issues, Türkiye and the United States need to step up their efforts in order to work together on regional and global issues. It is no secret that there are issues where the two NATO allies do not agree or, worse yet, pursue opposing policies. However, many challenges such as hot war, food crisis, energy, great power rivalry and climate change make it all the more necessary to focus on shared interests.

Türkiye’s pro-opposition circles have launched an excessive public perception campaign for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairperson and presidential candidate. The conservative parties that are part of the “table for six,” the opposition bloc that nominated Kılıçdaroğlu, and pro-CHP media personalities and authors lead that effort. Specifically, they refer to the prominent opposition leader as a mujtahid and draw parallels between him and Mahatma Gandhi to support his claim of being calm, collected, compromising, democratic and inclusive. Their praise for Kılıçdaroğlu comes with accusations against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – whom they see as the complete opposite.

Southern Türkiye was jolted by twin earthquakes on February 6 that caused unprecedented devastation across an extremely vast area, impacting 11 provinces. Almost on par with the scale of the devastation, Türkiye has also received a huge amount of humanitarian aid from many countries with which Türkiye both has cordial and strained relations. In light of the considerable level of solidarity showcased by many countries, it is still unclear whether this atmosphere of solidarity and amicability will translate into tangible outcomes in the respective bilateral relations between Türkiye and these nations. Likewise, it is also unclear whether the solidarity displayed by countries with which Türkiye had tense relations until the earthquakes will cause a thaw in bilateral ties and lead to a new chapter in relations. We asked foreign policy experts to weigh in on these questions.

As the recent natural disaster activates ties with Türkiye, it is necessary to use 'earthquake diplomacy' to reduce tensions and improve bilateral relations

Although Türkiye has had significant problems with NATO, the U.S., and the Western alliance in general in recent years, receiving serious humanitarian aid support during the 6 February earthquakes can be seen as a strong first step. However, the continuation of this and providing comprehensive and permanent support to Türkiye's rebuilding process, which may take at least a few years, will also be critical for the internal solidarity of the Western alliance. If Türkiye feels left alone in this matter in the medium and long term, it will be difficult to solve the priority problems in Turkish-American and Türkiye-Western relations. This will be a handicap in ensuring regional stability.

The opposition appears to have been apologizing for Türkiye’s foreign policy in response to the various forms of criticism that the Western media printed about the country in recent years.

How Rasmus Paludan could burn the Holy Qur’an as the Swedish police simply watched.

What is the background and significance of the Turkish foreign minister’s visit to Washington? What are the differences and similarities between the two countries’ Ukraine policies? Will the U.S. sell F-16s to Türkiye? What is Türkiye’s position on Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership? What is Washington’s view on Türkiye’s engagement with the Syrian regime?

With the world's attention diverted by the Russia-Ukraine war throughout the year, the Middle East was not at the top of the international political agenda in 2022

As we bid farewell to 2022, let’s take a look back at the most defining moments of the year

As Ankara has made a number of crucial and successful moves in world politics while being led by President Erdoğan, 2022 was a challenging but fruitful year for Turkish foreign policy

There is no doubt that Türkiye has assumed the most influential role in the international arena since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That role has two aspects. First, the Turks managed to take one of the few positive steps amid the Ukraine crisis by facilitating the grain deal and a prisoner exchange. Indeed, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s diplomatic achievements attracted plenty of global attention in 2022. Secondly, Türkiye made attempts at conflict resolution whilst seizing geopolitical opportunities created by the Ukraine crisis better than any other country.

As the Western-dominated liberal world order gives way to multipolarity, the opposition seems to think romantically about the possibility of aligning with this past reality