30.09.2021 13:51 Kurdish question and the interlocutor debate Just as problematic as the interlocutors were during the “peace process,” the situation today is just as problematic. However, what drives the debate is not actually related to the Kurdish issue, but how this issue will impact the political arena. 14.09.2021 11:23 Election threshold engineering The AKP and MHP recently announced a new agreed upon electoral threshold of 7 percent. The threshold has been speculated about as evidence of a breaking down of the alliance system. If the ruling parties run separately in the elections, it will provide some advantages, as it may be that the government can act together even if they do not stand together, but the opposition cannot act together unless they stand together. 28.08.2021 11:06 Holes in the wall of identity politics As the potential for early elections looms, we look at the wall of identity politics the government has relied upon for so long. The wall continues to be damaged by dangerous ideological simulations and risky populist attacks. Those outside the wall now outnumber those who insist on staying inside the wall. However, if the opposition turns the next election into an identity battle it could help the government. 04.06.2021 11:22 How can the opposition take advantage of ‘anti-Erdoğan’ moment? Via mafia boss Sedat Peker’s massively influential videos, there has been a shift in public support for the government, including President Erdoğan. To take advantage of the moment, the opposition needs to reassess the ‘anti-Erdoğan’ stance it has long-avoided. Public opposition to Erdoğan is growing, and what will break his cycle is a strategy defined not in terms of his words, but by what he has done and the pain he has caused. 14.05.2021 12:59 A symbol of Turkey's every wrong That weird kid sitting inside an empty watermelon is burned into your brain once you think about all it represents. He is the embodiment of ugliness, nonsense, arbitrariness, thoughtlessness, which we are confronted with in every area of Turkish life. The government is representing itself as weird and frightening as a concrete child popping out of a watermelon. 30.04.2021 11:20 Erdoğan losing control of his own system AKP government’s performance during the COVID-19 pandemic is a striking example of an “inability to manage,” which has now become chronic. For some time, President Erdoğan and his government were able to hide the fact that they were failing to address the growing problems of the country. However, we are seeing now that they can no longer manage the failures. 09.04.2021 12:21 Post-admirals’ statement, what really happened? The Turkish government’s flurry of activity in response to the joint-statement of 104 retired admirals has been subject to intense scrutiny. After an Erdoğan speech, the government tantrum stopped suddenly. The way this incident unfolded, the context in which it was placed, the reactions, the actors, and the subsequent weirdness indicates that perhaps the domestic political element of the issue is not as concrete as has been claimed. 05.03.2021 10:43 A so-called human rights action plan for Turkey In its current form, Erdoğan government's last package has nothing more to say than “we’ve just found out there is such a thing as law.” It has no credibility and its bidders are anything but convincing. 11 principles form the basis of the so-called “action plan.” The people who announced and explained those principles have previously violated all of them. 01.12.2020 10:55 Turkey’s new legal reform stuck in our throats It is clear that the future of the People’s Alliance, and the relationship between the AKP and the MHP, which Bahçeli offered and Erdoğan accepted, go beyond simply the tallying of votes. We now understand that the options offered and attributed to Erdoğan are not as clear cut as we once thought. 03.11.2020 12:03 AKP gov't is losing to reality, not the opposition You can call it that the truth has a habit of coming out, or you can attribute it to the natural flow of life, but this tool of control is not infinite. Even if problems and discontent can be managed for a while or diverted elsewhere, the state of losing contact with the reality pops up from its hidden place with a smile. 25.09.2020 11:09 Daring to disturb the sound of the Turkish State The state in Turkey treats its people as tenants without rental contracts. The people of the land are vassals who must obey. Minorities are expected to comply and there are dangerous crowds who are never to be trusted. 28.08.2020 11:58 Will there be early elections in Turkey? The new source of debate in Turkey is not whether the government would fall with elections; rather, it is whether the opposition alliance will endure. Instead of merely discussing the possibility of early elections, the opposition should push for the holding of actual elections. 21.08.2020 10:51 AKP government's foreign policy rhetoric and Turkish people National causes and many of the “existential threats” against Turkey have to do with foreign policy. Public opinion is sharp on “what is wanted from us and what is spared from us” though it cannot exactly pinpoint what it wants itself. 25.07.2020 11:33 Past and future intentions hinder the present Erdoğan government’s ability to expand its repression and go further with ever more assertiveness without facing any resistance has to do with the haplessness and perhaps deficient aptitudes of those who could check it. Cynical pundits, eager to crush opposition figures, say “you’ll see what comes next,” and they are always proven right. 26.06.2020 01:19 In defense of the “defense march” With regards to all protest movements, from the Gezi movement of 2013 to the “Justice March” of 2017, the government fears the prospect of people taking to the streets. 22.05.2020 00:29 What’s behind the AKP government’s restlessness? Today, the ruling AKP government is seeking a new consolidation formula that does not rely on voter support. Instead, it shall rely on a survival rhetoric spearheaded by MHP leader Bahçeli and based on the alleged “local and national” majority. 15.04.2020 00:22 What does the resignation story of Soylu really mean? The resignation story of Interior Minister Süleyman Soyl, confirms that a political and managerial mistake occurred, and that responsibility arose from this error. This responsibility for the mistake is something that won’t be able to be written off by accusing “fools” or “ignorant” group. 09.04.2020 11:38 We know what Turkish gov't is capable of doing Turkish government is frequently referring to the failures of the responses of European countries and the United States in tackling with the coronavirus outbreak. Turkey is truly in a “better position” in the sense that we can predict what our rulers are capable of doing. We can predict that our rulers will say only their views about an issue, without feeling the need to hide their opinions or stay completely objective. 02.04.2020 02:10 Turkish government’s artificial optimism failed to convince The government has no strategy to deal with the coronavirus crisis. It is also clear that scientific evidence and models are not being followed. Those patterns of behavior already prevailed with regards to Turkey’s economic crises, to the Syrian fiasco, the refugee crisis and to the its failing presidential system. 27.03.2020 01:06 Corona excuses of the AKP and the usual repetitions More than two weeks have passed since the first corona case was publicized in Turkey. As very few tests are being carried out, the number of cases remains artificially low. The government is forcing this unfounded optimism upon the public. As usual, it accuses those who dare raise doubts of ‘national treachery’ and ‘ungratefulness.’ 20.02.2020 23:46 The re-arrest of Osman Kavala cannot be grasped by logic The only conclusion we can draw from the Osman Kavala saga is that there is a consistency in the nonsense of this country's political events. 24.01.2020 00:09 The AKP-MHP alliance is showing cracks The MHP is the losing side of the government alliance. When it gets too close to the AKP, the two parties sink together. Recent poll data shows that the decline in the AKP has also started to pull down the MHP. 17.01.2020 00:29 The president is riding a magic carpet Amid successive foreign policy and economic fiascos, President Erdoğan needs his sycophants to convince him all is well so his stature remains unchanged. Yet when they cease to convince him, his leadership will crumble. 09.01.2020 00:32 The AKP has done away with its support for the poor. This could backfire In 2011, the AKP came up with a new strategy which became official in 2015. The party scraped its connection with the poor, referring to it only in an identity-focused discourse. As it rapidly slid into authoritarianism, the government instrumentalized its relationship with the poor, in line with right-wing populist practices. 12.12.2019 02:04 Erdoğan's gov't drifting away from bid to solve problems While Erdoğan's government emphasizes unchangeability, resilience and sustainability, it is further moving away from its bid to solve problems and prospects for the future. The difficulties of the opposition, which has been engaged in a long-term quest to find ways to change the political landscape, have now been replaced by the government’s crisis. 05.09.2019 17:47 Nothing will come from the AKP Lately there has been an intense debate from both within and outside of the AKP in terms of whether or not anything will come out of the party initatives arising from within the AKP. However, what most likely should be argued is whether anything will come out of the AKP at all at this point.