Atilla's Musings

Erdoğan Not Assured of First-Round Victory

Source:Center for American Progress Date:17Jun2018

In April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for snap elections expecting to solidify his rule under new constitutional powers. Yet with less than two weeks to go until the June 24

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Can Europe save Turkey from sliding into authoritarianism?

Source:Open Democracy Date:15Jun2018

The EU’s ability to pressure Turkey on democratization and human rights has been arrested on multiple fronts. As long as the humanitarian crisis in Syria continues, the EU will be less willing to

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Turkish Opposition Hopes 4 Parties Are Mightier Than 1 Against Erdogan

Source:New York Times Date:10Jun2018

International press  is giving  more space to commentary  about Erdogan losing, which suggests Turkey’s eternally divided and bickering opposition  has struck the right formula in this

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Three Scenarios for Turkey’s Elections

Source:Carnegie Europe Date:07Jun2018

Overall, from a foreign observer’s standpoint, Turkey’s forthcoming elections may be biased in favor of the ruling parties. But for the first time in a long while, opposition parties have a shot

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Does Turkey’s opposition have a chance at beating Erdoğan’s AKP in June?

Source:Brookings Date:30May2018

Are you bored of boilerplate articles like the linked one published by Bloomberg, which pretends to take the nation’s pulse by talking to a couple of guys on the street, or consulting

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A Big Chill Has Silenced Turkey’s Market Analysts

Source:Bloomberg Date:26May2018

AKP not only  silences media and the opposition, but  economists and security research analysts, as well.   With Erdogan just weeks away from elections likely to cement his near-absolute

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The Middle East’s new battle lines

Source:Brookings Date:21May2018

A good treaties on the evolution of Turkey-Iran relationship. It will be difficult to preserve the current compartmentalization, as US inweighs, and Iran encircles Turkey  in the south.:  

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Turkey to be hard hit by U.S. sanctions against Iran: analysts

Source:China.org Date:15May2018

Trump’s hawkish stance  on Iran is likely to complicate trade, finance and  relations with US.   Noting the sanctions will cover all of Iran’s state and financial institutions,

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Turkey’s banks present hurdle for Erdogan recovery

Source:Financial Times Date:11May2018

Turkey is far from out of the woods, though, given its long-running structural imbalance between domestic savings and investment. Hung Tran, executive director of the IIF, estimates that Turkey

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Beware of the disaster scenario in elections

Source:PA Intelligence Date:26Apr2018

Turkey is one of the rare countries where the announcement of a snap election is jubilated by investors. If the country was run by a shaky coalition or the hope was that the “bastards will be run

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