A Rival Steps Up to Challenge Turkey’s President Erdogan

Source:New York Times Date:06Jan2018

A decent primer on the chairwoman of Good Party, Mrs Meral Aksener, who is the only declared rival to Mr Erdogan in the upcoming presidential race.   Can she beat him?  The answer is no

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A tough year ahead for Turkey

Source:Hurriyet Daily News Date:03Jan2018

One of Turkey’s premier political commentators, Mr Murat Yetkin published his predictions for  2018.

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Conspiracy or Not, Turkey’s Ties to West Are at Risk

Source:Bloomberg Date:05Dec2017

According to an October survey by Istanbul Economics, a consultancy, more than two thirds of Turks think the alliance with the U.S. and Europe is already breaking, that Turkey could manage its

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Turkey opposition accuses Erdogan family of offshore financial transfers

Source:The New Arab Date:29Nov2017

Funny how only one source reports a huge accusation by main opposition party leader Mr Kemal Kilicdaroglu that Erdogan’s relatives have evaded taxes. For the sake of  pluralism, we share

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Muslims, money and democracy in Turkey

Source:Hurriyet Daily News Date:12Nov2017

AKP managed to expand Turkey’s middle class, as well as bringing in the formerly “disenfranchised” Islamists ot its center. Yet, contrary to accepted wisdom, a prosperous  and

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Turkey Premier Says Expects Justice in U.S., Not Prisoner Swaps

Source:Bloomberg Date:12Nov2017

Yildirim came back from Washington DC empty-handed, as this Bloomberg interview clearly demonstrates. What happens next is described in an Monitor article by economist Mr Mustafa Sonmez: Last

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Stung by secularism, now defending it: A Muslim feminist worries about Erdogan’s ‘new Turkey’

Source:cbcnews Date:03Nov2017

This is a story of how AKP’s authoritarian  Islamism is losing it support: Sonmez worries the conservative government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan — which women like her helped elect — is

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Turkey tightens siege on Afrin

Source:al Monitor Date:31Oct2017

As the sixth round of  Astana peace talks take start,  Ankara realizes it does not benefit from peace in Syria. After  its incursion in Idlip Province, military planners have now set eyes on

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Erdogan’s diplomatic spats leave a trail of Turkish disputes

Source:Financial Times Date:19Oct2017

This FT article actually describes Turkey’s institutional collapse, as Erdogan “personalizes” power in the Palace and among non-elected advisors, whose division of labor is 

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After visa crisis comes Reza Zarrab scandal

Source:Voice of America Date:14Oct2017

There  is hope, and believe me, no more than that, that the mutual visa ban between USA and Turkey will be lifted soon. With neither side budging from its position,  I don’t see how, but

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