Turkey’s Plan to Expand Its Periphery

by Robert Olson On March 29, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu caused quite a stir during a visit to Jordan where he stated, “Turkey’s security zone starts from Latakia and passes through Aleppo, Mosul and Sulaimani (Sulaymaniya).” This confirmed that Turkey intends to expand its regional geopolitical and… Continue Reading →

Mr. Erdogan Goes to Washington

by Derek Davison As Jim Lobe has already noted, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Washington this week to attend the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit. His visit produced a fair amount of fireworks on Thursday, as his security detail… Continue Reading →

Playing Poker with One Card

by Payman Shamsian The number of registered refugees in Turkey has exceeded three million, which makes it the largest sanctuary in the world. This number is terrifying, not only for human rights organizations or Turkey’s government, but also for European leaders.… Continue Reading →

Kurdish-Turkish War Escalates

by Robert Olson On March 15, Duran Kalkan, one of the main leaders of the PKK, stated that March would be a Kurdish Spring, at least for the Kurds in Turkey. Kalkan announced that the PKK would extend its war… Continue Reading →

Erdogan: The Savior-Turned-Destroyer of Turkish Democracy

by Derek Davison Turkey’s political landscape wasn’t supposed to look like this. When Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) won almost two-thirds of the seats in Turkey’s Grand National Assembly in 2002, it looked like a positive sign… Continue Reading →