• Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkey Is Not an Actor in the Gaza Conflict

    Aug 21, 2024Salim Çevik

    Prior to the Hamas attack on October 7, Turkey was in the process of political reconciliation with Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Turkey in 202…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Erdoğan’s Renewed Push for Syria Reconciliation: Domestic Pressures and Regional Dynamics

    Jul 25, 2024Salim Çevik

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made his most explicit appeal yet to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Setting a high bar for the future of relations, E…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyDemocracy and Governance

    Local Elections Show Turkey’s Democratic Resilience

    May 2, 2024Salim Çevik

    Immediately after his re-election to a third term last May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) was r…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkish-Gulf Relations in the Context of Regional Reconciliation

    Feb 14, 2024Salim Çevik

    Since 2021, Turkey has been resetting its policies in the Middle East and has started to reconcile with its rivals in the previous decade—Egypt, Israel, Saudi …

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Erdoğan, Gaza, and Turkey’s Regional Reconciliation

    Nov 30, 2023Salim Çevik

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's first statements following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip were …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Erdoǧan’s Calculations as the Israel-Gaza Conflict Escalates

    Oct 25, 2023Mustafa Gurbuz

    On October 20, during Friday prayers at the historic Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul, Ali Erbas, the head of Turkey's state-run religious affairs directorate, …

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyEnergy and Economics

    Turkey’s Ambitions in Iraq Play Out in Kirkuk

    Oct 3, 2023Mustafa Gurbuz

    In late August, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani stirred the pot of existing tensions when he ordered the evacuation of the Iraqi military’s Joint…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Erdoğan Seeks Better Relations with the West after His Reelection

    Aug 7, 2023Salim Çevik

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seems to have changed course on his country’s foreign relations. At the last NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, he final…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyDemocracy and Governance

    The Erdoğan Doctrine in the Wake of Turkey’s Elections

    Jun 22, 2023Mustafa Gurbuz

    When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced his new cabinet following his victory in the May 2023 presidential election, a positive mood ensued. Turk…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantClimate and Environment

    Water Politics in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin

    May 30, 2023Achref Chibani

    While energy security and the control of oil have long been determining factors for geopolitical conflict in the Middle East, the region’s geopolitics have als…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyDemocracy and Governance

    Turkish Elections in a Post-Truth Political Landscape

    May 24, 2023Mustafa Gurbuz

    The scene was all too familiar in the headquarters of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) on the day of the recent Turkish election. Giant portraits o…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyDemocracy and Governance

    Turkey’s Upcoming Elections: A Country at a Crossroads

    May 10, 2023Salim Çevik

    On May 14, Turkey will be heading to the polls for what many have deemed the most important election of 2023. For the first time in two decades, President Rece…