Author: Ronald Meinardus

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Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias (left) and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu talk to representatives of the local authorities in Adana in south-eastern Turkey after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake (image: Greek Foreign Ministry/AFP)

Earthquake diplomacy 2.0

New dawn for Turkish-Greek relations?

Greece is responding to the catastrophic earthquake in Turkey with great sympathy. Could it lead to an easing of tensions between the traditionally hostile neighbours? By Ronald MeinardusMore

Aegean tensions on the rise: Erdogan's "charm offensive" doesn't include GreeceGas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Detente between Greece and Turkey?Earthquake in Turkey: Germany’s Turkish community sends aid
Vladimir Putin (left) and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan smile broadly as they greet each other at a meeting in Tehran in 2018 (photo: picture-alliance/AA/R. Aydogan)

Turkey-Syria-Russia relations

Is Erdogan planning a deal with Assad?

There are signs of an imminent normalisation of relations between Turkey and Syria. This would allow Erdogan to score political points domestically before the upcoming elections in Turkey. It would also be opportune for Putin. By Ronald MeinardusMore

Russia, Ankara and Damascus: Who decides Turkey's foreign policy?Turkey's Syrian problem: Refugees – a hot topic in Turkish politicsUAE's Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan: Iran and Islamists a threat to Gulf safe haven
The flags of Turkey and the USA (photo: imago/imagebroker)

Public opinion in Turkey

Dreaming of a greater republic

Many Turks are dissatisfied with the international status of their country. At the same time, opinion polls reveal great scepticism among the Turkish population towards the USA. By Ronald MeinardusMore

Ukraine conflict: Turkey and Israel eye co-operation in Central AsiaTurkey-Armenia relations: Normalisation after 31 years of tension?Turkey and Central Asia: One nation, six states?
Natural gas drilling platform off the island of Cyprus (photo: picture-alliance/AP-Photo/P.Karadjias)

Europe's gas supply

Reshuffling the EastMed cards

In a bid to become less dependent on Russia, Europe is seeking new sources of natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean. War in the Ukraine has, however, led to new tensions over the EastMed pipeline project. By Ronald MeinardusMore

Aegean tensions on the rise: Erdogan's "charm offensive" doesn't include GreeceUkraine conflict: Turkey and Israel eye co-operation in Central AsiaMiddle East analyst Stephan Roll: "Egypt's leadership feels markedly threatened by Turkey"
Turkish President Erdogan visiting the UAE in February 2022 (photo: Jan Gambrella/AP Photo/picture-alliance)

Aegean tensions on the rise

Erdogan's "charm offensive" doesn't include Greece

It seems yesterday's words are water under the bridge. Turkish foreign policy is currently undergoing a profound re-orientation: declared enemies are to become partners, opponents allies. But not when it comes to Greece. By Ronald MeinardusMore

Ukraine conflict: Turkey and Israel eye co-operation in Central AsiaTurkey-Armenia relations: Normalisation after 31 years of tension?Gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Detente between Greece and Turkey?Interview with Middle East analyst Stephan Roll: "Egypt's leadership feels markedly threatened by Turkey"
President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (l) meets Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (r) in Doha, Qatar on 2 July 2020 (photo: picture-alliance/AA/M. Cetinmuhurdar)

Turkish foreign policy

Ankara – new guarantor of stability on the Hindu Kush?

Ankara's foreign policy apparatus is currently running at top speed. While politicians in the West busy themselves with evacuating Kabul and analysing the chaos, which not even optimists would term effective crisis management, Erdogan's Turkey seems to be one step ahead. By Ronald MeinardusMore

Erdogan's NATO peace offering: Can Turkish forces tame the Taliban in Afghanistan?Taliban in the ascendant: Joe Biden and America’s withdrawal of choiceRaw materials attract China: Why Afghanistan should be filthy richInterview with Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid: "The Americans were completely devoid of any strategy"
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his visit to Northern Cyprus, July 2021 (photo: Mustafa Oztartan/Presidential Press Office/Reuters)

Erdogan in Cyprus

No movement in the mediation deadlock

On his recent visit to Cyprus, Turkish President Erdogan continued to bang his two-state drum, insisting that this is now the only viable option for the divided island. By announcing the next phase of a plan to partially reopen the coastal resort of Varosha for Turkish Cypriot settlement, he is once again pushing his own agenda. By Ronald Meinardus in IstanbulMore

Gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Detente between Greece and Turkey?Qantara dossier: CyprusUS to lift 33-year arms embargo on Cyprus, angering TurkeyEscalation or mediation in the Eastern Med? Turkey and Greece at loggerheads over maritime sovereignty
Turkey's President Erdogan visiting Greece, 2017 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/Presidency Press Service/K.Ozer)

Conflict between Ankara and Athens

Has Erdogan's foreign policy hit rock bottom?

The change in U.S. president is also having an impact on the conflict between Turkey and Greece. Since the USA has started to play the Greek card, the strategic situation in the Eastern Mediterranean has shifted to Turkey's disadvantage. Ronald Meinardus reports from IstanbulMore

Gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Detente between Greece and Turkey?Interview with Middle East analyst Stephan Roll: "Egypt's leadership feels markedly threatened by Turkey"Mask diplomacy and power politics: Erdogan's foreign policy in the shadow of coronavirusA truly international conflict: How can Europe help prevent the carving-up of Libya?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo: Reuters/PPO/M.Cetinmuhurdar)

How much longer till Turkey's elections?

President under pressure – Erdogan's popularity nosedive

Turkey's parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled for June 2023. But they are already casting a shadow. While the opposition is calling for early elections, President Erdogan is insisting on holding the elections in the highly symbolic year of 2023. For right now, his ratings are poor. Ronald Meinardus reports from IstanbulMore

Social media in Turkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan's monitoring of the digital realm Coronavirus and press freedom in Turkey: Erdogan's crusade against "all media and political viruses"Erdogan and Turkish foreign policy: Neo-Ottoman rumblingsTurkey and northern Syria: Recep Tayyip Erdogan's deadly serious colonial project
Symbolic image: media in Turkey (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Social media in Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's monitoring of the digital realm

Having taken control of the traditional media, Turkish President Erdogan is now extending his reach to the social networks. A new law has been passed to rein in major digital players Twitter and Google. But the government's attempt to dominate public opinion is producing some bizarre outgrowths, reports Ronald Meinardus from IstanbulMore

Turkey's failing justice system: Desperate for justice, Turks resort to trial by TwitterPress freedom in Turkey: President Erdogan tightens the noose around social mediaTurkey′s media crackdown: No freedom. No press.Violence against journalists increasing: Press freedom under fire in TurkeyCoronavirus and press freedom in Turkey: Erdogan's crusade against "all media and political viruses"
Archive photo: The then Vice President Joe Biden (l) attends a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington, 31 March 2016 (photo: Reuters/J. Roberts)

Joe Biden and U.S. policy on Turkey

No more special privileges for Recep Tayyip Erdogan

The foreign policy direction favoured by Washington's new incumbent is putting a strain on relations with Turkey. The two nations look set to clash over a whole host of issues, from human rights concerns to the S 400 Russian missile system, Ronald Meinardus writes in his analysis for Qantara.deMore

U.S.-Turkey relations in 2021: Biden and Erdogan – how much carrot, how much stick?Turkey seeks its role in the Middle East: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policy rethinkTurkish-U.S. relations: Erdogan's Machiavellian motivesU.S. foreign policy in the Arab world: Joe Biden and the Middle East – bid farewell to Trumpism
Military escort for Turkish exploration vessel Oruc Reis in the Eastern Mediterranean (photo: picture-alliance/abaka/Turkish Naval Forces)

Gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean

Detente between Greece and Turkey?

Ever since natural gas deposits were discovered in the eastern Mediterranean, Greece and Turkey have been mired in a fierce dispute over their exploitation. Now both sides are making a new attempt to resolve the conflict diplomatically. However, deep-seated enmity and age-old stereotypes make political rapprochement difficult, reports Ronald Meinardus from IstanbulMore

Interview with Middle East analyst: Stephan Roll "Egypt's leadership feels markedly threatened by Turkey"Mask diplomacy and power politics: Erdogan's foreign policy in the shadow of coronavirusTreading the Turkish tightrope: The European Union risks empowering Erdogan at its perilEscalation or mediation in the Eastern Med? Turkey and Greece at loggerheads over maritime sovereignty
Photo montage: Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emmanuel Macron (photo: AFP/various sources/Adem ALTAN and Ludovic Marin)

Turkish views on Erdogan's feud with Macron

"Religion is the President's last resort"

Relations between Ankara and Paris have reached a new low, with presidential communications contributing to the escalation. To describe recent bilateral exchanges as undiplomatic would be the height of diplomacy. By Ronald MeinardusMore

France, terrorism and identity politics: Emmanuel Macron's determination to pick the wrong battleEscalation or mediation in the Eastern Med? Turkey and Greece at loggerheads over maritime sovereigntyMuhammad cartoon controversy: Macron and the Muhammad tempest in a Twitter teapot
Turkish drilling ship Yavuz off the coast of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean (photo: Reuters/M. Sezer)

Escalation or mediation in the Eastern Med?

Turkey and Greece at loggerheads over maritime sovereignty

Will German attempts at mediation avert the Eastern Mediterranean crisis? Greece has accused Turkey of conducting illegal explorations for shale gas close to the Greek islands. Yet Ankara maintains that the waters are part of the Turkish continental shelf. Ronald Meinardus reports from IstanbulMore

Interview with Middle East analyst Stephan Roll: "Egypt's leadership feels markedly threatened by Turkey"EU urges Turkey to halt gas hunt in east MediterraneanMask diplomacy and power politics: Erdogan's foreign policy in the shadow of coronavirus
Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj (left) visiting the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on 4 June 2020, Ankara (photo: picture-alliance/AA/M. Aktas)

Mask diplomacy and power politics

Erdogan's foreign policy in the shadow of coronavirus

In the age of corona, Ankara's regional power strategy is twofold: on the one hand, Turkey is engaged in a charm offensive to revamp its political image, which has suffered lately in certain quarters. On the other, President Erdogan is pursuing a tough policy of interests backed up by military force. By Ronald MeinardusMore

A truly international conflict: How can Europe help prevent the carving-up of Libya?Conflict in North Africa: In Libya, Russia sinks its teeth into another proxy warLibyan civil war: EU divisions over Libya leave a gap for others
View of the Kaaba in Mecca (photo: Reuters/Muhammad Hamed)

India′s new hajj policy

Empowering minorities?

While the Hindu-nationalist government led by Narendra Modi has withdrawn the hajj subsidy to Muslims, public grants to members of the Hindu majority making pilgrimages remain in place. By Ronald MeinardusMore

Interview with identity politics expert Mujibur Rehman: "Muslims feel deeply unsafe in present-day India"Muslims in India: Nothing like equal opportunitiesAll-female madrassas: Of women, by women and for women

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