As the Turkish media continues to bask in the military strike against bases in northern Iraq belonging to the illegal Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Turkish authorities have stepped up their pressure on the legal pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). Yesterday (December 17), Turkish police... MORE

Turkey’s muted response to the EU’s refusal to include an explicit reference to the country’s accession in its recent statement on enlargement is yet another indication of the waning enthusiasm in Turkey for what was once the country’s overriding foreign policy goal. At the conclusion... MORE

Recent remarks by General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had become both politicized and legalized have triggered a furious reaction from some of the leading members of the ultranationalist Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and... MORE

The December 10 sinking of an overcrowded boat carrying illegal migrants from Turkey to Greece has highlighted Turkey’s increasing importance as a transit point for illegal migrants seeking to gain entry to the countries of the EU. The issue has begun to strain Turkey’s relations... MORE

General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), yesterday (December 11) admitted that Turkey was losing the psychological war against Kurdish separatism. Buyukanit was speaking at a symposium in Ankara organized by the Strategic Research and Studies Center (SAREM), a think tank... MORE

Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s choice of a conservative as the new head of the Higher Education Council (YOK), which oversees university education in Turkey, has reinforced Turkish secularist fears and raised concerns about the possibility of renewed tensions over the role of Islam in public... MORE

The recent U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report suggesting that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 has eased the pressure on Turkey over its growing economic ties with Iran. Since the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in November... MORE

Yesterday (December 6) Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan concluded a two-day visit to Greece in a sign of a continuing rapprochement between the two neighbors. However, although the recent improvement in ties has undoubtedly considerably reduced the possibility of the two countries going to war,... MORE

Turkey has stepped up its efforts to secure as much as possible of its defense procurement requirements from local manufacturers. Turkey has long regarded the development of an indigenous defense industry as a strategic priority. Few in the Turkish military have forgotten the U.S. arms... MORE

Evidence presented to the court during the trial of five youths accused of killing three Christians in the southeastern town of Malatya earlier this year have raised questions about the involvement of state officials in the murder. On April 18, the five are alleged to... MORE