Justice and Development party (Turkey)

Topic: Justice and Development party (Turkey)

CHP campaign event in the run-up to the Istanbul mayoral elections (photo: Mariam Brehmer)

Mayoral election re-run in Turkey

Istanbul's Imamoglu has a plan

Having spent just seventeen days in the job, Ekrem Imamoglu from the Republican Peopleʹs Party wants to win back the office of Mayor of Istanbul. Who is this man – and why is his potential re-election so significant for Turkeyʹs future? By Marian BrehmerMore

Local elections in Turkey: Erdogan's allure is fading Opposition Istanbul candidate shaking up Turkish politics Countdown to Turkeyʹs local elections: Thank God for tomatoes!

Turkish author Asli Erdogan (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

Interview with Turkish author Asli Erdogan

"There is nothing left of democracy in Turkey"

For Turkish author Asli Erdogan the annullation of the mayoral electoral result in Istanbul marked the end of democracy in Turkey. Gezal Acer spoke to her about her life in German exile and the situation of writers and freedom of speech in TurkeyMore

Interview with Turkish writer Asli Erdogan: "It's my country too"Interview with Elif Shafak: "There is a lack of democratic culture in Turkey"Artists in Turkey: Erdogan′s new targets

Still from Turkish TV series "Yunus Emre" aired on TRT (source: YouTube)

Religion and media in Turkey

Reviving Sufism with Yunus Emre

The TV series "Yunus Emre: The journey of love" was a massive hit in Turkey when it was first aired four years ago. But this popular television spectacle is not the only evidence of a renewed interest in Sufi spirituality in Turkey. Marian Brehmer reports from IstanbulMore

Photo essay: Sufi shrines – the spiritual heart of Istanbul Sufism and Bollywood: A glittering antidote Qantara dossier: "Mysticism | Sufism"

Attack on CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Cubuk, a suburb of Ankara, on 21 April 2019 (photo: DHA)

Attack on opposition leader Kilicdaroglu

Return of the lynch mob in Turkey?

Turkish opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu was attacked by an angry mob in public and nearly killed – the latest in a spate of such violence. What does the incident say about the political culture in the country? By Burcu KarakasMore

Kemal Kiliçdaroğlu's "Justice March": Turkey's emboldened opposition Turkey post-referendum: Reconciliation – not a chance!Erdogan’s post-referendum Turkey: Divided, now rule

Protests in Istanbul against the oppression of Uighurs in China (photo: Getty Images/AFP/O. Kose)

Chinaʹs oppression of the Uighurs

Save our Turkic brothers, Mr. President!

Following a long silence, the Turkish government yielded to pressure from its nationalist voter base in February – arguably in a bid to garner local election votes – and criticised the persecution of the Uighur people by China. Yet how to strike a balance between Turkic solidarity and pressing economic interests? By Ulrich von SchwerinMore

Chinaʹs Muslim minority: "Re-educating" the Uighurs Local elections in Turkey: Erdogan's allure is fading Middle East economies: Treading the trade war tightrope

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo: DHA/C. Erok)

Local elections in Turkey

Erdogan's allure is fading

Because he completely dominated the poll, the Turkish President will be finding it even harder to swallow his party's defeats in Ankara und Istanbul. The loss of Turkey's two biggest cities shows that in the midst of an economic crisis, more Turks want solid solutions instead of bluster and grandstanding aimed at polarising the electorate. By Ulrich von SchwerinMore

Turkey's local polls: is it a win or a loss for Erdogan? Countdown to Turkeyʹs local elections: Thank God for tomatoes!After the elections in Turkey: There may be trouble ahead

The Brandenburg Gate illuminated in the colours and symbols of the Turkish flag on 29.06.2016 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/K. D. Gabbert)

“New Istanbul” in Berlin

Turkish brain drainers versus guest workers

Ever since the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey, an increasing number of well-educated people are leaving the country and settling in Berlin. However, they do not want to have anything to do with the so-called "guest worker Turks". Ceyda Nurtsch on a relationship informed by prejudice, aversion and ignoranceMore

Germanyʹs Turkish migrants: The need to be somebody A generation of 'German-Turks'Interview with the French-Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole: Europe's homegrown Turkish ethno-nationalists

President Erdogan attends an AKP election campaign event in the Turkish province of Corum on 12 February 2019 (photo: picture-alliance/AA/C. Oksuz)

Countdown to Turkeyʹs local elections

Thank God for tomatoes!

The AKP is currying favour with the electorate using religion and cheap vegetables. At the same time, it is attempting to suppress any news that might cause unrest among party supporters. By Bulent MumayMore

Creeping authoritarianism: Turkeyʹs one man band Turkeyʹs economic crisis: The sick man of Europe returns After the elections in Turkey: There may be trouble ahead

Students chatting in Istanbul (photo: picture-alliance/jtimage/B. Juettner)

Women in Turkey

The headscarf is slipping

Not long ago women in Turkey fought to cover their hair, yet now it seems the headscarf has fallen out of favour. Seventeen years into Erdoganʹs rule, some things are floundering – including the assumption that Turkish society is becoming increasingly conservative. By Christiane SchlotzerMore

Qantara dossier: "The Headscarf Controversy"Islam and democracy in Turkey: A headscarf affair, a women's affair?The headscarf debate in Turkey: A political issue par excellence

President of Turkey and ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party chair Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo: Getty Images/A. Altan)

Not-so-splendid isolation

Erdogan's geopolitical nightmare

Turkey’s emergence as a regional power has provoked suspicion, shaking the balance of power in the Middle East and beyond. As a result, relations with many regional players have deteriorated over the last decade. With diplomatic ties to the West currently at an historic low, is Turkey likely to end up out on a limb? By Stasa SalacaninMore

Arab reactions to the coup aftermath in Turkey: The problem with role models Western diplomacy in crisis: What to do about Khashoggi?The geopolitics of the Syrian conflict: Getting Erdogan on board

Turkish flag flying in a refugee camp (photo: picture-alliance/AP/L. Pitarakis)

Turkey's local elections

Playing ping-pong with the Syrians

In the run-up to local elections in Turkey, the government and opposition are trying to instrumentalise the refugee issue for their own ends. Experts warn against a rhetoric of division. Hilal Koylu reports from AnkaraMore

Syrian refugees: The burden of hospitality Syrian refugees boost economy in Turkey Qantara photo essay: Syrians forge new lives in Istanbul

Turkish acting legends Metin Akpinar and Mujdat Gezen (photo: picture-alliance/abaca/Depo Photos)

Artists in Turkey

Erdogan′s new targets

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is cracking down on artists, strongly rejecting any criticism, even from those with conservative backing. But what does he hope to gain from the increasingly aggressive tirades? By Aram Ekin DuranMore

German-Turkish film festival defies the odds: Sending a message Turkish pianist Fazil Say sentenced for insulting Islam: Playing the wrong tune Turkish Television Series: Muhtesem Yuzyil: Too much sex, too little heroism

Islamic scholar Professor Mustafa Ozturk (photo: Atahan Danaci)

Interview with Turkish Islamic scholar Professor Mustafa Ozturk

"Religious groups need to be transparent"

Mustafa Ozturk, a professor specialising in "tafsir" – Koranic exegesis – at Istanbulʹs Marmara University was recently accused of blasphemy. Convinced that various Islamic groups seeking to influence Turkish politics are responsible, Ozturk is actively considering self-imposed exile. Interview by Ayse KarabatMore

Freedom of expression in Turkey: Academics on the run Turkey's Religion Council: Setting guidelines for Islam and politics Alevites: How Muslim is Turkey?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo: Reuters/T. Berkin)

Turkey and the Gulen movement

Erdogan seizes the school initiative

Since the attempted coup in Turkey, President Erdogan has been pressing foreign nations to hand over schools run by the Gulen movement. Although many countries have entrusted control of the schools to the Turkish Maarif Foundation, the controversial movement continues to enjoy protection. By Ulrich von SchwerinMore

The restructuring of Turkey: Filling the gap left by Gulen The Gulen movement and the failed coup in Turkey: Harmless is not the word The Gulen movement in Turkey: Creating an elite to lead the state

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo: picture-alliance/AA)

Creeping authoritarianism

Turkeyʹs one man band

In June, Recep Tayyip Erdogan became head of state in Turkeyʹs new presidential system, which grants him enormous powers. But the country is in the midst of a veritable economic crisis. Erdogan has his back against the wall. An analysis by Timur TincMore

Turkeyʹs economic crisis: The sick man of Europe returns Turkeyʹs new constitution: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, twenty-first century Sultan After the elections in Turkey: There may be trouble ahead

Reminder of hyperinflation: 50,000 lira Turkish banknote (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Turkeyʹs economic crisis

The sick man of Europe returns

A destabilised Turkey is the last thing Europe needs. Regardless of what one thinks about Erdogan, more important things are at stake: peace and stability in south-eastern Europe and the future of Turkish democracy. Essay by Germanyʹs former foreign minister Joschka FischerMore

Turkeyʹs new constitution: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, twenty-first century Sultan After the elections in Turkey: There may be trouble ahead Criticising Erdogan: Don't romanticise the Kemalist legacy!

Topic: Justice and Development party (Turkey)

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