Publications

This paper adopts a comprehensive approach, considering perspectives from differing national stances as we review three main principles of international law: the general principle of sovereignty, the prohibition of intervention, and the prohibition of the use of force.

The foundational ByLock findings, crucial to the Turkish government’s mass arrests, have been exposed as riddled with substantial data manipulation and corruption.

As the U.S. presidential elections loom later this year, current polls point to the possibility of another term for Donald Trump. Given the tumultuous impact of Trump’s previous presidency, this prospect raises significant concerns for the Middle East.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered a historic judgment on September 26, 2023, in the case of Yalçınkaya v. Türkiye, which addressed the conviction of an ordinary teacher on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” held for his connection to the Gülen Group.

Despite the global far-right’s excitement over Javier Milei’s victory, it is crucial to approach Milei’s election cautiously and avoid interpreting it as a definitive sign of a substantial conservative shift in Argentine politics.

instituDE Direktörü ve bilgi güvenliği uzmanı Dr. Yasir Gökçe günlük hayatta karşılaştığımız siber tehditleri ve alınabilecek tedbirleri webtekno'ya anlattı.

On 26 September 2023, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (Court or ECtHR) in Yalcinkaya v Türkiye examined the human rights implications of the use of the ByLock app. In this landmark judgment, the Court found a violation of Articles 6, 7 and 11 of the Convention.

Since his re-election back in May, some of his actions led commentators to wonder whether he is planning to abandon his close ties with Putin in favor of a more pro-Western alignment. The profile of members of his new cabinet, such as the finance minister and the central bank governor, was interpreted as being indicative of his intention to revive Turkey’s traditional Atlantic ties, even though “yet another flimsy window dressing to attract foreign investment” would be a much more plausible explanation and sound much less like wishful thinking.

Two major earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5, rocked southeast Turkey within 10 hours on February 6. They struck a large area including 10 provinces with 13 million people. Winter conditions posed a further challenge to recovering thousands of survivors trapped under debris and slowed down search and rescue operations. Thus, the earthquakes caused a devastating human tragedy. However, they also became a regime test that revealed the scale of misgovernment and the consequences of crony capitalism in Turkey – eliciting reactions from victims and citizens alike.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has established his authoritarian regime by eliminating his rivals one by one throughout the last two decades. In his battles with the Kemalist generals, Gulenists, and Kurds, Erdoğan has come out victorious at every turn. But although his rule is incontestable today, he still shares the fruits of his victories with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)—his only remaining ally for the past five years.

Following the 2016 US elections, populism as a political discourse tactic surged worldwide and became critically examined by scholars as result of the anti-establishment rhetoric used throughout the Trump campaign. Yet despite the considerable amount of scholarly attention dedicated to this topic, its international dimension and ability to transcend beyond national borders has been rarely studied. To fill the lacuna in the literature on populism, in this article it is examined how populist discourse is construed by leaders in an effort to appeal to an audience beyond their national borders.

Bazen bilgi eksikliği bazen de dalgınlık... Hepimiz en az bir kere yanlışlıkla, kötü amaçlı yazılım içeren bir linke tıklamışızdır veya tıklayacak gibi olmuşuzdur. Bu yazımızda, bu mevzuyla ilgili ''peki böylesi bir durumda ne yapmalıyız?'' sorusunu masaya yatırıyoruz.

Webtekno'ya verdiği röportajda siber güvenlik uzmanı Yasir Gökçe siber güvenliğin ne olduğunu, hack olaylarının nasıl geliştiğini, ulusal ve uluslararası bağlamda siber güvenliğin neden sağlanamadığını, yaşı küçük kitlenin nasıl hack yaptığını ve daha birçok konuyu anlattı

15 Temmuz darbe girişiminin ardından ilan edilen Olağanüstü Hal (OHAL) uygulaması ve bu dönemde alınan tedbirlerle yüzbinlerce insan çok çeşitli mağduriyetlere maruz bırakılmıştır. Bu mağduriyetlerin arasında pasaport iptalleri ve pasaport vermeme uygulamaları önemli bir yer tutmaktadır. Bu sebeple yurtiçinde ve yurt dışında yaşayan pek çok vatandaş aile bireyleriyle beraber seyahat özgürlüğünden mahrum bırakılmıştır.

Bulk and indiscriminate collection of personal data has long become a frequently-resorted practice of the Erdogan government to suppress the democratic demands of the citizens or to surveil and intimidate them.

According to a tweet tread by Onursal Adıgüzel, the vice president of the main opposition party (CHP), the BTK has long been retrieving personal data and communications metadata from internet service providers (ISP), including the big three providers, under the pretext of ‘national security’. A ‘confidential’ communique circulated to 313 ISPs by the BTK orders them to send ‘subscription textures’ once every hour.

Atransactional relationship is increasingly seen as the only solution for the future of U.S.-Turkey relations. As the relationship has lost its values-based spirit and diplomatic crises have exhausted both sides, a business-like understanding has emerged as a last attempt to keep the relationship alive. Yet, as even transactional relations have significant shortcomings, Washington and Ankara should be prepared for a messy divorce.

For U.S. policymakers, it will be necessary to determine how best to reconfigure American strategy in the Middle East in an age of new hegemonic struggles. From the U.S. perspective, withdrawal or retreat from the region does not necessarily reflect the true nature of the policy change. Regional actors, however, are likely to have the opposite perspective—that the United States is much less interested in Middle Eastern regional issues than it has been in the past.

As Russia has initiated its onslaught against Ukraine, the Turkish position has tilted towards the attitudes of other NATO countries, although it remains cautious in an attempt to not raise Moscow’s ire.

The ruling addresses the complaints of the 427 purged judges/prosecutors detained by incompetent courts on account of the arbitrary interpretation of the ‘in flagrante delicto’ concept, alleged and feigned presence of which stripped the applicants of enjoying essential special procedural safeguards.

El Salvador Devlet Başkanı Nayib Bukele, Türkiye’yi ziyaret ederek Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan ile bir araya geldi. Bukele, başta Twitter olmak üzere sosyal medyada son derece aktif bir isim. Türkiye’ye geldikten sonra attığı paylaştığı esprili selamlama tweeti de bunu doğruluyor: “Öncelikle, Bitcoin diyarı El Salvador’dan tüm Türkiye’ye selamlar”!

If Erdoğan is voted out of office, no one in Washington or Brussels should expect Turkey to suddenly turn into a docile and obedient ally. Structural changes in the international environment, broader bureaucratic and ideological trends in Turkey, and new facts on the ground that Erdoğan has created will all limit the potential for “normalization” in post-Erdoğan Turkey.

Son zamanlarda AYM’nin bireysel başvuru süresine dair bilinen içtihatlarına aykırı kararlar alarak bireysel başvuru yolunu işlevsizleştirdiğini ortaya koyan birçok örnek ortaya çıkmaya başladı. AYM son zamanlarda, başvurucu ya da avukatının Yargıtay kararını UYAP üzerinden öğrendiği tarihten itibaren 30 gün içerisinde bireysel başvuru yapmadığı gerekçesiyle bireysel başvuruyu süre aşımı nedeniyle reddetmeye başlamıştır.

Turkey has maintained strong dialogue with NATO and EU countries despite increasing differences regarding foreign policy matters. Meanwhile, Turkey’s intensifying relations with authoritarian states is one of the striking trends between 2010 and 2020.

Dış politikamız, uzun yıllar içinde geliştirilen ilişkilerin hoyratça harcandığı, en kıdemli uzmanların ulusal menfaat bağlamında rasyonel bir açıklama getiremedikleri, gündelik tepkilerle idare edilmeye çalışılan bir basiretsizlikler toplamına döndü.

elations between Turkey and Qatar have flourished within the past decade, particularly after the 2017 Gulf boycott against the latter. Yet efforts by Ankara and Doha to normalize diplomatic relations with Gulf countries and Egypt raise doubts about the future of bilateral relations between Turkey and Qatar. For sure, neither Turkey nor Qatar have any interest in ending their mutually beneficial bilateral relations.

Authoritarian governments are exerting their influence on interstate political bodies to persecute political opponents at home and abroad. This results in practices that undermine the rights of individuals to a fair trial, the right to be heard, and the right to judicial review.

The increased U.S. sanctions have significantly increased the opaque dealings of the Venezuelan government with several U.S. adversaries. The Maduro administration has apparently taken advantage of the sanctions. It is believed that the Venezuelan government utilizes corruption and other illicit revenues to ensure the loyalty of the elites and security forces to be able to remain in power.

The article attempts to reveal the significance of the legal qualification of a cyberattack and its attribution to a state for insurance coverage in both general insurance policies, like the one the Mondelez case stemmed from, as well as in insurance policies targeted to cover cyber risk.

This article offers a history of the ministry and explores several current themes related to foreign policy and the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, particularly in light of the changes that occurred in the post-coup period, with the insights provided by former diplomats at INSTITUDE.

Geopolitical, ideological, and socio-economic quandaries will continue to haunt processes of normalization in the Middle East subsequent to the US’s gradual withdrawal from the region. Underlying issues remain unresolved despite diplomatic relaxation, and the power vacuum left behind by the US has the potential to rekindle regional rivalries and trigger proxy wars worse than those seen under the Obama and Trump administrations.

Imagine that one day the government asserts that the messaging app you have been enjoying has long been used by a group that the government declares “terrorist” and that on that ground you have become a member of this terrorist organisation.

Bringing externals in the critical business processes and having them assume some or all of the responsibilities associated with the critical business functions comes with information security risks whose impact, if materialized, could be disastrous for business and therefore warrants a meticulous and holistic approach for managing those risks.

Almost three years ago, a booming gold trade between Turkey and Venezuela captured international headlines amid the mounting sanctions against the Maduro administration. Similarly,Turkish mobster Sedat Peker’s allegations about a new drug trafficking route from Venezuela have recently captured the headlines in Turkey.

In this article, the author analyzes the dissenting opinions of Judge Wojtyczek, who disagrees with the majority regarding the speediness of the TCC ruling, and of Judge Yüksel, who criticizes the essential findings of the Court with regard to the foreseeability of the constitutional amendment lifting immunities of applicant and of article 314 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC).

Ignoring the main factual background of the purge mechanisms set up and conducted by the Turkish government immediately following the coup attempt, I think the Court’s conclusion in Pişkin is wrong under both facts and law, -with regards especially to both the application of the criminal limb of article 6 and the lawfulness test under article 8 of the Convention. I elaborate the arguments below to support my conclusion.

Lacking personal charisma and booming oil revenues, Nicolas Maduro has struggled to obtain his predecessor’s popular support and failed to legitimize his rule at the polls. Instead, Maduro consolidated his power through sharing it with elites and the military. Externally, the country’s social, economic, and political environment has contributed to the growing perception among international actors that the regime is becoming ever more authoritarian and unstable.

Latin Amerika’nın krizlerle boğuşan ülkesi Venezuela’da pazar günü Parlamento seçimleri gerçekleştirildi. Muhalefetin büyük çoğunluğu, özgür ve adil olmadığı gerekçesiyle seçimleri boykot kararı alarak yarışa dahil olmadı. Resmi sonuçlara göre seçimlere katılım oranı %31 ile sınırlı kaldı. Maduro’nun liderliğindeki GPP, oyların %67’sini alarak Meclis’te çoğunluğu kazanan parti oldu.

Robert Spano, President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), paid an official visit to Turkey upon the invitation of the Turkish Minister of Justice between 3-5 September 2020. In respect to the events and meetings held during this visit, Spano and the Strasbourg Court have been harshly criticized for undermining its independence, neutrality and ethical rules.

In this paper, co-authors analyze the contradiction of blockchain technology and the requirements of GDPR. The three contradictions we examine are (i) right to be forgotten versus irreversibility/immutability of records, (ii) data protection by design versus tamper-proofness and transparency of blockchain, and (iii) data controller versus decentralized nodes.

Menfur 15 Temmuz hadisesinin ardından olağanüstü hal (OHAL) ilan edilmiş, darbeyle herhangi bir alakası olmamasına rağmen önceden hazırlandığı anlaşılan fişleme listelerine girmiş olan sayısız memurun ihracı gündeme gelmişti.

Alex Saab, a little-known Colombian businessman, was detained on the African island archipelago of Cape Verde on Friday after an Interpol “red notice” was issued against him. The 48-year-old was allegedly en route to Iran to negotiate some deals to exchange Venezuelan gold for Iranian gasoline.

As the coronavirus outbreak spreads, Turkey has garnered global attention with its “generous and benevolent” medical donations. Ankara has sent medical supplies to more than 70 countries across the globe during the pandemic, including to the United States and to Britain. Many experts and analysts consider the aid to be part of Ankara’s strategy to leverage its soft power. At first glance, Turkey's efforts may look like a smart tactic to repair its tarnished image in the West.

This overview of cyber security offers state-of-the-art approaches from a multidisciplinary standpoint, and will be of interest to all those working in the field.

This paper aims at examining the ensuing significant legal ramifications of such incidents involving State and non-State actors under international law. To that end, it employs a concrete cyberattack scenario where a commercial satellite with thrusters is captured by cyber means and weaponized into something that can disrupt ongoing military operations and destruct other space assets.

This report on the relationship between Turkey and Venezuela argues that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has drawn close to Maduro “based on the two leaders’ mutual dislike of the West and frustration with U.S. sanctions.”

Amidst abundant signs of turmoil and challenges in Turkey’s seemingly rudderless foreign policy, the country apparently needs a more diplomatic approach and legal expertise in international law rather than aggressive military posture in its immediate vicinity. As Turkey lurches into one crisis after another in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, the prudent invocation of international law has consequently become an imperative in foreign policy given the legal implications of current conundrums Ankara faces.

It examines, from a legal perspective, the progress made in implementing the financial regulatory reforms adopted since the global financial crisis and highlights the role of the IMF in advancing these reforms and charting the course for a future reform agenda, including the development of a coherent international policy framework for resolution and resolution planning.

With its endless wars, crises, massacres, and turmoil, the Middle East is seen as hopeless geography today. It was much better than this throughout the 20th century, but it had never been so hopeless, exhausted, and desperate. There is no more new ideas, projects, or emotions that motivate and energize Arab street around itself.

Turkey’s foreign ministry, where I used to work, was famous for its strict hierarchy. The ministry prided itself with its two-centuries-old tradition and impeccable reputation. But after the coup attempt in 2016, extensive purges have created an irreplaceable shortage of qualified cadres in almost all state institutions in Turkey, including the foreign ministry. More than one-third of the career diplomats were labeled terrorists and expelled.

The Pakistani Supreme Court recently declared a group running secular educational institutions in Pakistan a terrorist organization and ordered the educational institutions be handed over to the Maarif Foundation, an apparatus of the Erdogan regime which is purportedly responsible for providing Turkish-style education around the world.

The close relationship with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offers Maduro a much-needed lifeline that might help his regime breathe under increasing isolation and sanctions.

Last week, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, declared himself the country’s interim president in accordance with Venezuela’s constitutional provisions. Shortly after, the Trump administration swiftly proclaimed its support for Guaidó.

Aside from the fact that Erdogan’s visit was the first-ever visit by a Turkish head of state to Venezuela, Erdogan’s visit bluntly demonstrates Turkey’s determination to strengthen its bilateral relations with the embattled Maduro regime despite rising international sanctions and pressure.

An examination of the legality of President Erdogan’s extraterritorial abduction policy reveals a number of remedies through UN mechanisms that victim states and individuals may pursue.

This piece aims to address the issue of whether extraterritorial abduction of Turkish individuals carried out by the Erdogan regime are legal under international law.

Andrés Oppenheimer’s latest article, “Has Venezuela’s opposition lost its voice?”, addresses a critical question. It’s undeniable that in the past year the Venezuelan opposition has disappeared as a visible, coherent public and political force in the country.

Venezuela is in the throes of a severe economic and humanitarian crisis. The incompetent, repressive policies of President Nicolás Maduro have propelled Venezuela into a downward spiral, and political turmoil is deepening the chaotic situation in the country. The economic and humanitarian crises, coupled with rising authoritarianism, have forced many Venezuelans to flee.

The allegation of having been downloaded the Bylock app is currently a sufficient finding for the Turkish judiciary to arrest dozens of thousands of followers as well as other Turkish citizens who have had no link whatsoever with the Movement, on the basis of their alleged ties with a so-called terrorist organization.

On August 4, President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela was the target of the first-ever drone “assassination attempt” against a president. It took place as Maduro spoke at the 81st anniversary of the country’s National Guard. He survived the assault, as one drone crashed into a nearby apartment building and the other seemingly exploded in air.

The recent announcement from the Venezuelan Central Bank that it is sending gold to Turkey to be refined has not received enough attention amid the diplomatic row between Turkey and the United States. The spat started with growing frustration over Turkey’s detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson and has now ramped up with both sides imposing tariffs.

After Venezuela’s dictator Maduro won the sham elections on May 20, the Trump administration has been facing the difficult question of how to push for a transition of power in Venezuela. After a long time, high-level officials of the United States administration have started to hint at the desirability of a putsch in that Latin American country.