In just the past decade, Turkey has turned from being lauded as a “model country” to being termed a “patria non grata” (unwanted country) by its Western allies and neighbors.
“Neither sentiment nor illusion must influence our policy. Away with dreams and shadows! …They cost us dear in the past”
İsmail Kahraman, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) member and Parliament Speaker, recently stated that “the Sultan Abdulhamid II period is a mariner’s compass to give us direction and enlighten our future.” He was speaking on the occasion of the Symposium for the Commemoration of the Birth of Abdulhamid II last week.
A recent video which was released by Syrian rebels in northern Syria shows fighters jeering a coalition convoy and rebels objecting to U.S. special forces on the ground. It also shows the complexity of the current situation in Syria
I decided that “comparative politics” is the best way to avoid my hopelessness concerning Turkey’s politics
I tried to explain the difficulties that Turkey has faced since the July 15 coup attempt and criticized Europeans for their negative attitudes toward Turkey during the European Forum in Alpbach last week
Failure is doomed to be an “orphaned child,” but in fact Turkey’s foreign policy failure has many fathers
The tragedy of being or trying to be “a democrat” in Turkey is being a member of a very tiny minority
For long, Western governments and even liberal democrats turned a blind eye to Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism as long as Turkey’s politics suited Western interests and clichés
