Turkey

Reports of torture are nothing new in Turkey, particularly since the 2016 coup attempt. This set the scene for an unprecedented crackdown on anyone considered ‘enemies of the state’. Since then, over 100,... Be More Curious...

Supporting the rule of law and the dismissed civil society in Turkey through reoriented IPA funds

Cengiz Aktar

11/04/2019

As a negotiating candidate country to the European Union, at least officially, Turkey continues to benefit from pre-accession assistance (IPA). Turkey’s negotiating process, in fact, has been ailing for a long time and gradually reaching the standstill p... Be More Curious...

Turkish Local Elections in the Shade of Endangered Media Trust and Economic Credibility

27/03/2019

Turkey is in a continuous election race as the local elections to be held on 31 March will be the 6th elections in the last five years. Besides the ongoing electoral tension, the country has also been in ... Be More Curious...

Turkey and the European Union: Towards the post-candidacy era

Cengiz Aktar

14/03/2019

It is safe to say that in the history of European Union’s enlargement, opening in 1973 with the accession of Britain, Denmark and Ireland, the first spectacular failure is the candidacy of the Republic of... Be More Curious...

Interview with Cengiz Aktar on Turkish Civil Society and Opposition

Stephanie Leysen

13/03/2019

As part of our "Beyond Europe" research program, we have interviewed Cengiz Aktar who is a professor of political science at the University of Athens and a columnist for Ahval. Among many other issues, we discussed the way in which the European Union can... Be More Curious...

PANEL — Can the European Union Remain Connected to Turkey?

Pavel Vanev

12/03/2019

Events, Turkey

On the 6th March 2019, Vocal Europe organised an expert panel discussion on the future of EU-Turkey relations under the question “Can the European Union remain connected to Turkey?”. The central pa... Be More Curious...

POLICY PAPER — EU Support to Dismissed Civil Society in Turkey: Yes, There is a Better Alternative

Stephanie Leysen

04/02/2019

It has been fourteen years since the negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the European Union (EU) were formally opened and the process has been bumpy to say the least. Whereas the European leaders ... Be More Curious...

OPINION — Why is tension in Cyprus rising again?

Tionenji Lishomwa

27/12/2018

Inside Europe, Turkey

For much of the international community watching, ‘Ayşe will go on holiday again’ means very little. Especially if 1974 is before your time, you may have wondered what such a bizarrely innocuous phrase could possibly have to do with Meral Akşener – the... Be More Curious...

COMMENTARY — How effective is the European Court of Human Rights against the human rights violations in Turkey?

15/12/2018

As it is known by most, Turkey has been in an extraordinary atmosphere since the 15 July 2016 attempted coup. Fotis Filippou, Amnesty International's Deputy Europe Director, describes this atmosphere wh... Be More Curious...

COMMENTARY — The Turkish model: How Turkey has coped with 3.6 million Syrian refugees

Robert Ellis

06/12/2018

There is one issue that has preoccupied Europe since the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011: immigration. More than six million Syrians are internally displaced and five million have fled to neighbo... Be More Curious...

POLICY PAPER — The revival of EU-Turkey relations: Erdoğan’s double strategy of rapprochement

Ebubekir ISIK

25/11/2018

Following the attempted coup d’état since July 2016, Turkey has been pursuing a two-track strategy towards the European Union (EU). Mainly, because of the course of action adopted by President Erdoğan Administration concerning the treatment of the ... Be More Curious...

Time to Pay Attention to the Relationship with Turkey

Geoffrey Van Orden

02/10/2018

Turkey is a vital NATO ally and strategic partner of the West. Yet, over the past two years its relationship with the Western democracies and their allies has deteriorated. The catalyst for this was the... Be More Curious...

Departing further from European values

Helmut Scholz

22/09/2018

First Kosovo. Then Moldova, Georgia, now Ukraine. Or just the way around. Not important. But everywhere the same unbelievable facts of parallel and somehow frightening tendencies over last months and ye... Be More Curious...

Dealing with Autocrats: A principled approach to Erdogan’s state visit to Germany

Julius M. Rogenhofer

14/09/2018

Despite ongoing tensions between Turkey and its Western allies, the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier invited his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a state visit in late September. The success of this meeting will depend on Europe’s w... Be More Curious...

Is Abduction Becoming a Tool for Turkish Foreign Policy Under President Erdogan?

Alessio Tardivo

01/09/2018

Turkish foreign policy appears to become increasingly aggressive. Despite the growing concerns echoed by her Western friends and allies, Ankara seems to act with a modus operandi inspired by the ruthles... Be More Curious...

Opposition in decay: Erdogan’s perpetual victory

Irene Christodoulaki

13/08/2018

After the June elections, the Turkish opposition is in disarray. It seems to be out of ideas while trying to reorganize itself. Even the ongoing currency crisis with the USA was not enough to make the o... Be More Curious...

Turkey’s Pledged Economic War: Pastor Brunson Effect or A Self-fulfilling Prophecy

13/08/2018

On last Friday, Turkish Lira has fallen to a record low against the dollar suffering its worst one-day lost. At the wee hours Turkish lira has traded at the exchange rate of 6.30 Dollar and 7.22 Euro. “We will not lose the economic war.” Erdogan sta... Be More Curious...

Erdogan educating African youth: consequences for radicalization in Europe

Clara Berthelot

08/08/2018

Like France or the United Kingdom, Turkey runs schools located outside of its territory. However, unlike the other examples, the Turkish schools were not managed by the state, at least until very recent... Be More Curious...

Turkey’s Presidential System and Resource Distribution Tools

Xavier Palacios

03/08/2018

Analysts in Europe, the US and Turkey have focused on how the latest victory of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the presidential elections and the victory of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) in the parliamentar... Be More Curious...

“I am German when we win, an immigrant when we lose”

27/07/2018

Mesut Ozil, Germany’s star football player of Turkish origin has announced his retirement from Germany’s national team on Sunday. Ozil stated discrimination and racism he has experienced particularly after the World Cup in Russia as the reason leading him ... Be More Curious...

Between a rock and a hard place: how EU should deal with “Turkish issue”

22/07/2018

Rather than talking about the necessity of cooperation between the EU and Turkey, an issue that has been triggering a massive body of literature, this analysis will focus on what strategy the EU mig... Be More Curious...

Understanding Turkey’s election

Julius M. Rogenhofer

26/06/2018

It is an eerily familiar sight: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims victory in a televised address. Across Turkey and several European capitals victory celebrations erupt in chants of the president’s name... Be More Curious...

Turkey’s Snap Dual Elections Under a New Political Paradigm

22/06/2018

Previously, Turkey had covered a significant distance on the path of democratization by starting accession talks with the EU on October 3, 2005; however today, the global perception towards Turkish democracy has come under question more than ever. Part... Be More Curious...

Which factors may determine the outcomes of critical June 24 elections?

21/06/2018

Only a few days left for Turkey’s June 24 snap elections. Turkey will hold to two elections: parliamentary and presidential on Sunday. It is of capital importance. In April 2017 referendum people of Turkey ... Be More Curious...

Can Austria’s anti-mosque decision turn to Erdogan as vote?

15/06/2018

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s move to close mosques frustrates Turkey’s President Erdogan. Kurz’s statement on closing seven mosques and expel around 60 imams and their families seems to trigger a ne... Be More Curious...

Erdogan the merchant of Gaza

Tionenji Lishomwa

13/06/2018