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Feb 14, 2024 | 
carnegieendowment.org | Alper Coşkun
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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Feb 12, 2024 | 
carnegieendowment.org | Alper Coşkun
Türkiye and the United States just made an unforced error. The wavering partners mutually resigned to postponing their much-anticipated White House rendezvous this week between U.S. President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This delay followed a period of mixed messaging, including a U.S. assertion that no visit had been scheduled, which contradicted joint preparations in the background and, more importantly, raised eyebrows on the Turkish side.
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Feb 12, 2024 | 
carnegieendowment.org | Alper Coşkun
After ratifying Sweden’s NATO accession last month, Türkiye is on its way to receiving forty U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets and seventy-nine modernization kits in a transaction valued at $23 billion.
Getting across this finish line wasn’t easy. An underlying lack of trust stood out throughout negotiations, and Ankara and Washington repeatedly went back and forth before they agreed on a choreography that suited both sides.
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Dec 5, 2023 | 
carnegieendowment.org | Alper Coşkun
Attributing a role for Syrian refugees in fostering a positive chapter in the beleaguered Türkiye-U.S. relationship may seem like a stretch, but the Türkiye Compact proposed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) leads one to think otherwise.
The UNDP’s policy proposal combines humanitarian and sustainable development considerations regarding refugees in Türkiye, of which Syrians constitute the vast majority.
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Nov 7, 2023 | 
carnegieendowment.org | Alper Coşkun |Sinan Ülgen
On October 29, Türkiye celebrated its centennial year as a republic to much fanfare. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s reforms to establish a modern, secular nation-state modeled after industrialized Western countries have long shaped the country’s identity. But over the past two decades, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his socially conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) have transformed Türkiye’s self-image to one focused on deep-seated religious traditions and its break from the past.
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Oct 4, 2023 | 
carnegieendowment.org | Alper Coşkun
In an unexpected and swift offensive on September 19, Azerbaijan took control over Nagorno-Karabakh, triggering a mass exodus of the civilian Armenian population and prompting experts to declare the beginning of the end of the long-standing territorial dispute. Just five days later, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave on Türkiye’s border, where he was hosted by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
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Jun 1, 2023 | 
carnegieendowment.org | Alper Coşkun
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan put any doubts about his political viability to rest after securing victory in Türkiye’s critical twin elections. On May 14, the coalition of right-wing and conservative parties led by his Justice and Development Party (AKP) obtained a majority in parliament. Two weeks later, on May 28, he defeated his rival, the opposition’s joint candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in a runoff for the presidency, renewing his mandate for another five years.
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May 13, 2023 | 
gjia.georgetown.edu | Alper Coşkun
NATO allies Greece and Türkiye are locked in a web of disagreements fraught with historical baggage. Since fighting each other over Cyprus in 1974, they have come to the brink of war on three separate occasions. With freshly elected governments due to take office in both countries, an opportunity to work toward incrementally addressing differences could be looming. Some creative thinking, with shared political will, patience, and determination, will be necessary to mend their relationship.
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May 9, 2023 | 
carnegieendowment.org | Alper Coşkun |Francesco Siccardi
When Türkiye heads to the polls on May 14, all indicators show that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be up against the most serious political challenge of his career. Opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is neck and neck with the longtime leader, but his victory is no foregone conclusion.
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Feb 15, 2023 | 
carnegieendowment.org | Alper Coşkun
The magnitude of the natural disaster that struck Türkiye and Syria earlier this month would have pushed even a robust response mechanism to its limits. In Türkiye, the challenge was aggravated by poor construction standards, a lack of infrastructure resilience, shortcomings in disaster readiness, and an overcentralized response system that balked while people were trapped under rubble.
