Interview: Erdogan, the Referendum, and Turkey’s Future

by Derek Davison On April 16, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and (most of) his Justice and Development Party (AKP) won a narrow victory, with a 51.4 percent majority, in a national referendum on changing Turkey’s constitution. That result was… Continue Reading

Erdogan Gets His Campaign Message

by Derek Davison Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics almost since the day he, along with Abdullah Gul, Bulent Arinc, and others, founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001. AKP won a huge victory in Turkey’s 2002… Continue Reading

Turkey’s Relations with Syria

by Robert Olson Turkey’s relations with Syria are different from its relations with Iraq. The main difference is that Ankara has no close partners in Syria as it does in the form of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) which works… Continue Reading

Turkey’s State of Emergency and the March to One-Man Rule

by Robert Olson Turkey declared a “State of Emergency” (OHAL) on July 20, five days after the failed coup. It is to last for three months but can be extended at four-month intervals indefinitely if parliament agrees., Since it became… Continue Reading

War Between Kurds and Turks?

by Robert Olson Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), has mentioned several times in the last few months that Turkey and its Kurdish population will go to war. He stated such a possibility in early March while… Continue Reading