What happened to the Armenians in 1915, just as the First World War was heating up, is for historians to research and reveal. Much has already been revealed and the general outline of the story is known.
The stakes have never been so high for Turkey. It is clear that the general elections on June 7 are not going to be just regular elections.
Diplomats in Ankara appear confused after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Iran on Tuesday.
İlber Ortaylı is Turkey’s renowned professor of history whose main area of expertise is 19th-century Ottoman history, which is when Turks first started experimenting with pluralism and parliamentary democracy.
It is evident that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government is in a strategic bind in terms of foreign policy. Its ambitious plan to cast Turkey in the role of a principal driving force in its region has amounted to little.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is pushing harder by the day for a presidential system. He now says the parliamentary system has been put in the ante-room and it is only a presidential system that can save the republic.
According to a Turkish saying, he (or she) who goes to the hamam must be prepared to sweat. This means that if you are taking on a particular job you must be prepared to put up with its downside.
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arınç’s recent criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, even if shrouded in sugary diplomatic language, suggests turbulence ahead in Erdoğan’s relations with the government of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.
A new set of circumstances is developing in the Middle East. This has always been the nature of international relations. Yesterday’s enemies can find common ground while former friends can fall out. Intentions are all very well but it is always reality that drives successful foreign policies
