A recent statement by Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has once again raised doubts about the government’s understanding of the requirements of Turkey’s EU accession process. On February 2, with the domestic agenda still dominated by the reactions of hard-line secularists to the attempts by... MORE

In recent weeks, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been heavily criticized for focusing almost exclusively on trying to lift the ban preventing women wearing headscarves from attending university and ignoring the growing number of problems facing the country – including a cooling... MORE

Even if it doesn’t overshadow Turkey to the extent that it did a decade ago, on January 30 the Turkish military demonstrated that it still has the ability to bring the country to a halt while hanging not just on its words, but even on... MORE

The United States seems finally to have abandoned its hesitant attitude on supporting Turkey’s fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), but Ankara is increasingly driving the agenda. On Sunday, January 27, Turkey’s deputy chief of the General Staff, four-star General Ergin Saygun, arrived in... MORE

Hopes that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would attempt to revive Turkey’s stalled bid for EU membership appear set to be the first victim of the party’s efforts to lift the ban that currently prevents women wearing headscarves from attending university. In recent... MORE

As Turkey’s ruling moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) continues to try to find a way to lift the ban that currently prevents women wearing headscarves from attending university, members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DPT) have called on the government to show... MORE

For long-term observers of Turkey, one of the country’s enduring fascinations is its turbulent mix of contrasts, paradoxes, and contradictions, Nowhere is this more true than in its attitudes toward the Christian West in general and Europe in particular. Europe is frequently regarded as being... MORE

On the evening of January 23, a court in Ankara decided to reverse a previous ruling and allow the population of Turkey to visit YouTube. For the previous four days all access to the popular video-sharing site had been blocked by a previous court ruling... MORE

Turkey’s assiduous efforts to turn itself into a regional energy transport hub and to secure its own energy supplies have led it to attempt to mediate a diplomatic dispute between two post-Soviet energy giants, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. At issue is the legal status of the... MORE

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) literally rolled out the red carpet for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on January 21, as he began a three-day official visit to Turkey. Despite being a pariah to most of the international community as the result of... MORE