A version of this blog appeared on Carnegie Endowment
On May 9, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss energy cooperation and the war in Ukraine. The meeting highlights a broader trend in Central and Eastern Europe: Even after Viktor Orban’s fall from power in Hungary, several regional leaders continue to engage with Russia in search of economic...
Turkey’s path to the dictatorship
The first phase of Erdoğan’s plan to neutralize the main opposition party — carried out in cooperation with former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu — has been completed. The crisis escalated when figures close to Kılıçdaroğlu, along with individuals linked to organized crime, made their way to CHP headquarters. It intensified further after Kılıçdaroğlu submitted a petition to the Ankara Police...
Weekly Turkey Report: Second Week of April 2026 - Erdoğan Moves to Neutralize CHP Under Cover of Regional Tensions
Executive Summary
Arrests and detentions are...
Weekly Turkey Report: Second Week of January 2026 - CHP in Silivri
Executive Summary
The CHP held its weekly parliamentary group meeting in Silivri,...
Recep Tayyip Erdogan—Turkey’s longtime leader as prime minister (2003-2014) and subsequently as president (2014-)—infamously once declared that “democracy is like a train; you get...
On March 19, 2025, the arrest of Istanbul Mayor and opposition presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu reignited a political crisis that has been smoldering for...
The Weekly Turkey Report: 1st Week of June
After visiting the grave of Alparslan Türkeş, founder of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), MHP leader Devlet...
The Weekly Turkey Report: 1st Week of April
Following the events after March 19, one could say that Turkey experienced one of its relatively calmest...
