Kurdish-Turkish Conflict
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Turkish incursion into northern Syria
You reap what you sow
Many Turks, at home and abroad, feel misunderstood. The Syrian offensive is intended to ease matters and does not constitute ethnic cleansing, they claim. They also say there is no racism in Turkey. This is a misrepresentation of the situation, says Tayfun Guttstadt in his contribution to the debate
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Turkey isolated amid international pressure
Erdogan's captive audience
Most Turkish citizens approve – to a greater or lesser extent – of their countryˈs incursion into Syria and are deeply irritated by the Westˈs apparent incomprehension of the situation on Turkeyˈs southern border. By Ayse Karabat
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Turkey's Syria offensive
Burying the Kurdish autonomy project
When the Kurds of Syria came under Turkish fire less than ten days ago, the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria was left with no choice but to call on Assad for help. Thus ends a political project that many hailed as a model for the future order of Syria. But, as Ulrich von Schwerin points out, it was a project built on very shaky foundations
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Interview with Ali Ertan Toprak
"I am stunned by Europe's weak and inactive stance against Erdogan"
Ankara has begun its Syrian offensive. The Kurdish region is threatening to sink into chaos. The aim of the operation is to expel the Kurds, says Ali Ertan Toprak, chairman of Germany’s Kurdish community, in an interview with Daniel Derya Bellut
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The Kemalist CHP and the Kurdish HDP
Decision time for Turkeyʹs opposition
Will the CHP take Imamogluʹs success in the re-run of the Istanbul mayoral elections, achieved through the support of the HDP, as an opportunity to finally abandon its rigid attitude towards the Kurds? By Gulistan Gurbey
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U.S. withdrawal from Syria
The U.S. is still needed in Syria
By rushing out of Syria now, the Trump administration is ceding the field to Russia, Turkey and Iran, all but guaranteeing another regional conflagration in the near future. By leading a new diplomatic effort to end the conflict and begin reconstruction, Trump could both extricate the US from the conflict and help stabilise the region. By Charles A. Kupchan and Sinan Ülgen
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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 Karakas
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The geopolitics of the Syrian conflict
Getting Erdogan on board
Recently, while considering the future of war-torn Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin invoked the Adana agreement signed over two decades ago between Turkey and Syria. How this should be interpreted depends on which side you are on, as Ayse Karabat explains
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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 Tinc
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State repression in Turkey
Tear gas for grieving Saturday Mothers
The Saturday Mothers gather weekly in Turkey to demand information on loved ones subjected to enforced disappearance or state violence. But in the country’s repressive political environment even their vigils are coming under attack. Tom Stevenson and Murat Bayram report from Istanbul
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Electioneering in Turkish Kurdistan
Masters of the blame game
With elections imminent, the Turkish government and the Kurdish opposition are emphasising their peaceful intentions, yet the Kurdish conflict remains entrenched. A visit to Diyarbakir and Cizre on the Syrian border reveals the deep-seated antagonism and just how far both sides are from a reconciliation. By Ulrich von Schwerin
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Comparison: India and Turkey
The Modi-Erdogan parallel
While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not achieved the degree of "state capture" that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has, he is also 11 years behind. The path the two leaders are on, however, is similar enough to invite comparison – and provoke concern. By Shashi Tharoor