Opinions - Turkey

Will Erdoğan and Al-Assad Shake Hands Soon?

Will Erdoğan and Al-Assad Shake Hands Soon?

by Enes Esen, published on 30 December 2022
President Erdoğan said on December 15th that he had proposed to Russia’s President Putin to hold a trilateral meeting between Turkey, Russia, and Syria. First, chiefs of intelligence would meet, followed by a meeting with ministers of defense, and later a meeting with ministers of foreign affairs. After these meetings laid the ground, he opined that the three presidents could have a trilateral meeting.
Bir Diplomatın Kazası Niye Haber Olur?

Bir Diplomatın Kazası Niye Haber Olur?

by Enes Esen, published on 23 December 2022
Geçtiğimiz hafta 15 Aralık günü İstanbul Şişli’de bir trafik kazası yaşandı. Haberlerde konsolosluk aracını ABD İstanbul Başkonsolosu Julie A. Eadeh'in eşi Mounir Elkhamri'nin kullandığı, yapılan ölçümde 240 promil alkollü çıkan Elkhamri’nin konsolosluk aracını bırakarak olay yerinden ayrıldığı, yaralı vatandaşın hastanede tedavisinin devam ettiği ve kazayla ilgili inceleme başlatıldığı belirtiliyordu. Basit bir trafik kazasına ilişkin basında birçok haber çıkması ve alakası bulunmadığı halde ısrarla kazaya ABD İstanbul Başkonsolosu Julie Eadeh’in dahil edilmesi üzerine ABD Ankara Büyükelçiliği bir açıklama yapma gereği duydu.
Would Turkmen Gas Make Turkey an Energy Hub?

Would Turkmen Gas Make Turkey an Energy Hub?

by Enes Esen, published on 19 December 2022
The interruption of the flow of Russian gas to Europe within the context of the invasion of Ukraine has affected the Central Asian Republics such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan which were heavily counting on the Russian infrastructure to transport their hydrocarbon resources. Central Asian states have now to be more assertive in diversifying their export routes to Europe and China, the two main power-hungry regions of the world. Turkey, in its turn, wants to take advantage of its geographical proximity to the natural resources-rich countries to become an energy hub.
Why is Turkey so insistent on an incursion into Syria?

Why is Turkey so insistent on an incursion into Syria?

by Enes Esen, published on 24 November 2022
Turkey has already carried out four large-scale military operations in Syria in the last six years. And yet it wants to launch another large-scale military campaign. There are some reasons why Turkey is concerned with northern Syria nowadays.
İsrail-Lübnan Anlaşması ve Türkiye’nin Alacağı Dersler

İsrail-Lübnan Anlaşması ve Türkiye’nin Alacağı Dersler

by Enes Esen, published on 7 November 2022
ABD’nin arabuluculuğuyla İsrail ve Lübnan arasında yürütülen müzakereler sonucunda iki ülke 27 Ekim’de tarihi bir deniz yetki anlaşması imzaladı. Lübnan devletinin, varlığını resmi olarak tanımadığı İsrail’le uzlaşıya varmasında ülkede yıllardır devam eden ağır ekonomik kriz büyük rol oynadı. İsrail bakımından ise doğalgaz kaynaklarının güvenliğinin ve meşruiyetinin sağlanması için Lübnan’la anlaşmaya varılması gerekiyordu. Bu uzlaşıda, Akdeniz ve Ege’deki komşularıyla problem yaşayan Türkiye için çıkarılacak bazı mühim dersler bulunuyor.
AB Genişleme Raporu ve Türkiye’yi Bekleyen Bazı Tehlikeler

AB Genişleme Raporu ve Türkiye’yi Bekleyen Bazı Tehlikeler

by Enes Esen, published on 15 October 2022
Avrupa Birliği Komisyonu’nun aday ülkeleri değerlendirdiği 2022 Genişleme Raporu 12 Ekim’de açıklandı. Raporun Türkiye’ye ilişkin kısmında özellikle siyasi kriterler ile hukukun üstünlüğü ve temel haklar fasıllarında çok ağır eleştirilerin yer alması Ankara’daki yetkililerin sert tepki vermesine neden oldu.

Reports - Turkey

MODERNIZING THE TURKEY–EU CUSTOMS UNION: ISSUES AND PROSPECTS

MODERNIZING THE TURKEY–EU CUSTOMS UNION: ISSUES AND PROSPECTS

by instituDE, published in March 2025
The Turkey–EU Customs Union, established in 1995, has been a defining feature of trade relations between Turkey and the European Union. Over the past three decades, the global economic landscape has evolved significantly, necessitating a modernization of the agreement to address new trade realities, regulatory developments, and emerging geopolitical challenges. Updating the Customs Union would not only strengthen economic ties between Turkey and the EU but also enhance market access, promote regulatory alignment, and create a more resilient trade framework suited to contemporary global trade dynamics. The current Customs Union primarily covers industrial goods and processed agricultural products, excluding key sectors such as services, agriculture, and digital trade. This limited scope has resulted in inefficiencies, trade imbalances, and difficulties in aligning Turkey’s economic policies with the EU’s evolving trade framework. A major challenge stems from asymmetries in FTAs, where Turkey must adopt EU trade policies without gaining reciprocal access to new markets, creating obstacles for Turkish exporters. Geopolitical tensions, shifting supply chains, and increasing regulatory demands highlight the need for a comprehensive overhaul of the agreement. The application of the gravity model suggests that while the Customs Union has led to intra-trade creation effects within the EU–Turkey bloc, trade diversion effects are not significantly observed.
TURKEY‘S MASS PURGE AS VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC SERVICE IN ICCPR

TURKEY‘S MASS PURGE AS VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC SERVICE IN ICCPR

by instituDE, published on 23 October 2024
'A gift from God' was one of Erdoğan's first descriptions related to coup attempt in July 15. At first no one realized that God's gift meant a chaotic environment in which he needed to declare a national emergency with no checks and balances and then transform Türkiye’s parliamentary democracy into an executive presidency.
JUDICIAL CORRUPTION IN TÜRKİYE

JUDICIAL CORRUPTION IN TÜRKİYE

by instituDE and Arrested Lawyers, published on October 2024
This submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) highlights severe issues undermining the integrity of Türkiye's judiciary, particularly focusing on rampant judicial corruption and impunity as well as human rights abuses which they facilitate. Based on the most recent incidents of corruption concerning members of the judiciary who serve in courts in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara, this report seeks to examine the high-level corruption within the judiciary and the Turkish government’s failure or even willful ignorance in addressing it.
TURKEY'S GROWING ROLE IN GLOBAL COCAINE TRAFFICKING

TURKEY'S GROWING ROLE IN GLOBAL COCAINE TRAFFICKING

by Dr. İmdat Öner, Halil Çavuş, Ömer Güler and Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 17 September 2024
This report focuses on Turkey's prominence as an emerging market for cocaine trafficking and organized crime in the last decade. Cocaine production in Latin America has dramatically increased since 2013, and Turkey’s status as an emerging market has attracted the attention of Latin American government officials on the front lines of the cocaine trade.
WEAPONIZING FINANCIAL SYSTEMS: ERDOĞAN'S TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION TO MUZZLE DISSIDENTS ABROAD

WEAPONIZING FINANCIAL SYSTEMS: ERDOĞAN'S TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION TO MUZZLE DISSIDENTS ABROAD

by Dr. Yasir Gökçe, Mayra Russo and Sara Kezia Heinonen, published on 29 August 2024
This report sets out to provide a comprehensive analysis of the tactics employed by the Erdoğan administration to achieve repressive goals abroad and the vulnerabilities and how they are enabled by the AML and CFT regulation in place.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES BY THE ERDOGAN GOVERNMENT

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES BY THE ERDOGAN GOVERNMENT

by instituDE, published in June 2024
This submission highlights the ongoing systematic actions and omissions by Turkish authorities against the so-called members of the Gulen Group, framed as crimes against humanity. It demonstrates the violations of recommendations that even Türkiye has supported.

Videos - Turkey

Hakan Fidan'ın Irak Ziyareti

August 26, 2023
by Haşim Tekineş, published on 26 August 2023
Dışı İçi Bir'de bu hafta Haşim Tekineş, Hakan Fidan'ın Irak'a gerçekleştirdiği kapsamlı ziyareti çeşitli yönleriyle ele aldı

Ankara Dümeni Tekrar Batı'ya mı Çeviriyor?

August 18, 2023
by Ömer Güler and Haşim Tekineş, published on 18 July 2023
DışıİçiBir'in yeni bölümünde Ömer Güler ve Haşim Tekineş Batı ile Türkiye arasında yeni bir yakınlaşma olup olmadığını irdelediler. Bu bağlamda mevcut Türk hükümetindeki bakan ve diğer üst yöneticilerin profillerini, İsveç'in NATO'ya katılmasına ilişkin itirazın geri çekilmesini, Ukrayna savaşı çerçevesinde Türkiye'nin takındığı olumlu tutumları ve Batı'ya yakınlaşmanın anlamını ele aldılar.

E-devlette Veri Sızıntıları, Rusya'nın Dezenformasyon Operasyonları

June 19, 2023
by Yasir Gökçe, published on 19 June 2023
HukukGünlüğü'nde instituDE Direktörü ve bilgi güvenliği uzmanı Dr. Yasir Gökçe yaşanan güncel siber güvenlik olaylarını tüm boyutlarıyla anlattı.