The month of May traditionally marks the beginning of the tourism season in Turkey. Despite rising prices and the domestic turmoil triggered by the closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), 2008 is expected to be another record year. Over 27 million... MORE

The latest employment figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (Turkstat) have reinforced concerns about the possible social impact of the slowdown in the Turkish economy. At end-February, the official unemployment rate stood at 11.6 percent, up from 11.4 percent at end-February 2007. The official... MORE

The May 12 sale of KanalTurk, the most fiercely antigovernment national television channel in Turkey, to an associate of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has consolidated a growing shift in the balance of power in the Turkish media from opponents to supporters of the... MORE

The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) has formed a new political party in preparation for its likely closure by the Turkish Constitutional Court later this year. On May 9, 42 Kurdish politicians with links to the DTP formally applied to the Turkish Interior Ministry to... MORE

Turks are becoming increasingly pessimistic and introspective according to a recent survey by the A & G research company, which was published in Milliyet (May 9-10). The survey, which was conducted on April 26 and 27 in 33 provinces across the country, found that only... MORE

Among the “frozen conflicts” left over from the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, the economic implications of Armenia’s 1988 to 1994 conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh are perhaps the most striking, as Armenia’s economy has until recently stumbled along while Azerbaijan’s has soared,... MORE

In a recent interview in the Financial Times United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Kemal Dervis warned that Turkey was one of the countries likely to suffer the most from what he called an “inflation tsunami” (Financial Times, May 7). His remarks have heightened concerns... MORE

Sabah has reported that Turkey is preparing to launch a comprehensive air defense system against missile threats in its immediate neighborhood. To this end, “while the assessments of the bids for short- and medium-range air defense systems are continuing, long-range air defense and missile systems... MORE

After several years in which restrictions on freedom in Turkey had begun to ease, journalists, academics and researchers are once again coming under increasing pressure, according to the latest report by the locally-based Independent Communications Network (BIA). Founded in 2003 in an attempt to provide... MORE

Since the beginning of May, the Turkish military has stopped enrolling conscripts as reserve officers in its commando brigades. This is the initial stage of a process that is expected to culminate in the creation of the country’s first fully professional army units (Vatan, Milliyet,... MORE