Turkey’s Kurds Choose the AK Party over HDP Separatism
The AK Party increased its votes in the eastern region, which shows that stiff counterterrorism…
What’s Behind Turkey and Iran’s Joint Operation on the PKK?
Turkey and Iran are closest to finally reaching a point where they can cooperate for…
Christchurch: The West Got It All Wrong
The lesson of the New Zealand attack is that the West got it all wrong. If…
Turkey’s S-400 Deal: The Last Straw that Breaks the Camel’s Back in US-Turkey Relations?
Turkey’s purchase of S-400s from Russia is more than a simple choice. It’s a strategic…
Vertical Mobilization of Turkey’s Conservatives
The February 28 coup was not just about re-shaping the political spectrum by forcing political…
Tortures, Executions, and Sisi’s Unlimited Credibility in the West
Unlike the toppled president Morsi, Sisi has nothing else other than Western support. Those nine…
FETO’s Efforts to Make Albania a Safe Haven
The status of FETO in Albania will be a determinant of future relations with Turkey,…
Hunger Strikes for the PKK’s Imprisoned Leader Ocalan
HDP and its predecessors have long followed and supported Ocalan. Sometimes, they argued that Ocalan…
Is the spring finally coming to the Turkey-PUK relations?
Turkey has a simple rule: do not support the PKK if you do not want…
Erdogan in the NYT: Turkey is the only Viable Partner for the US
Erdogan states that Turkey can defeat (and has already defeated) Daesh militarily and, further, it…
Turkey’s Counter-Terrorism Efforts in 2018
With the recent U.S. decision to pull out of Syria and stop supporting the PKK’s…
Syria After the US Withdrawal
If the U.S., one way or another, wants to dictate the terms of filling in…
Enough is Enough in Eastern Syria
The U.S., sooner or later, has to find a way to do business in Eastern…
Populism: The New Wave of “Magic” in Europe?
The country that elected Macron for a revolution is now pushing him to the edge…
Another Step in Pushing the PKK Out of Iraq?
If the PUK works with Turkey in the latter’s campaign to terminate the PKK in…
The ECHR Ruling on Demirtas and Turkey’s Response
50 people died in the riots that Demirtas called his party to support – including…
To Extradite or not to Extradite Fetullah Gulen? Rumors in the Press
With various sources claiming different stories, if the Trump administration has actually considered the extradition…
Does the US Bounty on PKK Leaders Mean Anything?
PKK leaders Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik and Duran Kalkan have been added to the U.S.…
Turkey-US Relations: How to Save a Bent Relationship From Being Broken?
Perhaps the right way to interpret the recent warming in the bilateral relations is about…
What Won the KRG Elections in Iraq? KDP’s Revisionism or PUK’s Status Quo
Recent developments in Iraq illustrate that the KDP and PUK will continue to dominate Iraqi…
Jamal Khashoggi and Andrew Brunson: Two Cases Showing How Turkish Foreign Policy Functions
While the power game in Syria continues in its fullest sensitivity, the fates of individuals…
No Meddling in Iraqi Politics: Turkey’s Spot is on the PKK
The PUK’s candidate Barham Salih was elected as the new president of Iraq on Tuesday,…
A Textbook Example: How the Gulenist Cult Became a Terrorist Organization
If terror is the use of violence by non-state actors targeting civilians in order to…
Turkey Buys Time (and Hope) for Idlib
Turkey’s Idlib deal gave the rebels one more month to consider their options. It gave…
As Diplomacy Moves on in Idlib, so does Turkey’s Deterrence Strategy
Turkey’s primary strategy in this game is to deter the Syrian regime from a brutal…
Turkey’s take on the Tehran Summit on Idlib
Yes, the joint statement did not guarantee a fully peaceful solution over Idlib but this…
Turkey’s route in the Middle Eastern conundrum
Kids bully, fight, and cause problems if they are not restrained or incentivized by their…
Mourning for an unborn liberal world order
Why do we have this recent haze and craze then if the liberal world order…
How Turkey’s war against the PKK is becoming more effective
Over the past week, the Turkish Armed Forces neutralized two senior PKK commanders and took…
How to save a sinking pseudo-alliance: Turkey-US relations
As long as the U.S. does not change its policies regarding the PYD and FETO,…
When a Super Power goes Rogue, Everything goes Wrong
The only hope for a new start is Trump’s unpredictability. Another u-turn in American policies…
HDP’s Choice: Political Struggle or Armed Campaign?
The HDP should not overestimate the Turkish state’s choice to leave the “political path” open.…
Barzani Back in Turkey: Towards Re-building Relations?
The KRG is also not happy with the presence of the PKK in its region.…
How intra-Kurdish Differences Prevail in Eastern Turkey
A final finding of the June 24 elections in Turkey is that neither Turkey’s eastern…
What to Make of the June 24 Elections in Eastern Turkey
In the eastern cities of Turkey, where the ethnic Kurdish population is in significant numbers,…
Projections for Sunday’s Elections in Turkey
Many would bet for a victory for Erdogan but with a divided parliament, which will…
Demirtas’s Armed Heroes in his Speech for Peace
Here is my call for Demirtas. Next time you want to make it clear that…
Turkey’s Offensive in Iraq: The Target is Qandil
Only after such a tri-partite cooperation of Turkey, Iran, and Iraq, can the PKK finally…
What Does HUDA-PAR’s Support for the AK Party Mean?
Huda-Par has signaled to the conservative Kurdish voters that Erdogan is still the closest candidate…
The HDP between Ethnic and Socialist Appeals
The upcoming elections, will show whether the HDP and PKK will be able to appeal…
No Unified Front for Turkey’s Ethnic Kurdish Parties
The goals of small Kurdish parties in creating a Kurdistan free from the Turkish state’s…
Ince’s Dilemma in his Appeal to the Kurdish Constituency
As Ince continues his appeal to HDP voters, Aksener’s constituency and the secular nationalist CHP…
The Odds for Erdogan and Demirtas in Turkey’s Presidential Elections
It seems like the Kurdish votes will be split between Erdogan and Demirtas in the…
Who Will Turkey’s Kurds Vote For?
The electoral behavior of Turkey’s Kurds with regard to the AK Party and Erdogan vis…
Is Erdogan the Condorcet Winner in Turkey?
Erdogan knows that he will win in any pairwise election and that is the reason…
To Hit or Not to Hit Assad, Is That the Matter?
April 2018 strikes gave the message to Assad that the volume of strikes will increase…
Ankara Summit: Discussing Divergent Scenarios in Syria
Among such diverging priorities, Turkey, Iran and Russia will need to give each other benefit…
Turkey in the Aftermath of the Afrin Operation
Turkey’s “allies” that arm, train, and protect the PKK may keep the group safe in…
Strategic Exit in Afrin, but Whose Strategy?
Turkey’s encirclement strategy in Afrin, which is known for not letting easy retreat, left an…
Reign of Terror in Northern Syria: Displacement Routine by the PYD
The PYD, under U.S. military and diplomatic protection, has committed vast human rights violations ranging…
Turkey’s Hunt for the PKK in post-referendum Iraq
As a result of its alliance with the US, the PKK expanded territories it captured…
The Kurdish Quest for Independence in Iraq and its Repercussions for Turkey and the Region
As the referendum day is coming closer, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) shows no sign…
Intra-Kurdish Approaches to the Independence Referendum in Northern Iraq
The referendum and possible independence process gets even more complicated when the non-Kurdish actors –both…
Between Anger and Sympathy: European and North American Foreign Fighters in the YPG
For the European and North American volunteers, both the reasons to join and desert the…
The PKK’s Child Soldiers
The PKK counts thousands of child soldiers among its ranks of fighters, and they are…
Can the PKK be Viewed as a Gender Liberator?
The PKK is often represented as an environmentalist, feminist, and at times, charitable organization in…
The Vicious Cycle of Increasing PKK Terror and Hardening Security Policies in Turkey
The overwhelming idea in society is that the PKK is using the HDP for recruitment,…
And The Day Came
One major question regarding the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, is: why…
