Turkey’s tightening censorship regime continues to challenge its relations with the western countries. The Turkish authorities, last week, gave 72 hours for Voice of America (VOA) Türkçe and Deutsche Welle (DW) Türkçe to register as an internet broadcaster. Otherwise, they will either stop their activities or their administrative boards will face imprisonment in Turkey. Washington and Ankara want to configure their relationship on a transactional basis, but as Turkey’s authoritarian practices deepen, Turkey’s authoritarian drift continue to be a challenge for Turkish-American relations.

President al-Sisi has faced extensive criticism for leading his country toward an authoritarian path. One of his fiercest critics was Turkey’s President Erdoğan, who did not mince his words about al-Sisi, calling him a tyrant, an oppressor, and a murderer. After a decade of feuding, the two leaders have apparently mended the fences. President Sisi was scheduled to visit Turkey on July 27th, marking the beginning of a new era between Cairo and Ankara. However, at the eleventh hour, he chose to cancel his trip.

Ukrayna savaşı ana gündemiyle toplanacak NATO Zirvesi 11-12 Temmuz tarihleri arasında Litvanya'nın başkenti Vilnius’ta düzenlenecek. Zirvede NATO’nun açıkça bir tehdit olarak adlandırdığı Rusya’ya karşı yeni savunma planları onaylanacak. Türkiye’nin İsveç’in NATO üyeliğine ilişkin vetosunu kaldırmasıyla Rusya’ya karşı daha güçlü bir birlik mesajı verilecek. Kısacası sonu tehlikeli vadilere giden yeni bir silahlanma yarışının yaşandığı dünyamızda, NATO liderleri bölgesel ve küresel güvenlik politikalarını ve savaş planlarını gözden geçirecek.

Turkey’s main opposition party, CHP, has not yet recovered from the trauma of its recent election defeat. Despite the challenges posed by President Erdogan's extensive access to public resources for campaigning, his complete control over the media, and various election manipulations, it was a notable achievement for Kilicdaroglu to secure 48% of the votes. However, a segment of the opposition holds the view that Kilicdaroglu, who has been leading the party for 13 years, cannot fully realize the CHP’s potential. This discrepancy between expectations and reality is causing instability within the CHP's leadership.

The US and Swedish authorities are currently investigating graft allegations involving Bilal Erdoğan, the son of Turkey's President, according to a Reuters special report. These allegations have significant implications, as they could constitute a criminal offense under certain circumstances. However, as the report points out, there is a possibility that they may not even lead to formal charges. Interestingly, the Turkish side seems to have minimal interest in the substance of the allegations or its judicial implications.

Turkey and the Gulf countries have initiated a normalization process since the al-Ula Summit in late 2020. The leaders have mended fences through high-level visits, diplomatic overtures, promises of investments, and dozens of agreements. Turkey has already started to reap the benefits of normalization in terms of economic and diplomatic relations. It is difficult to forecast how long this period of authoritarian peace will last, but it is promising to witness the success of diplomacy in the region.

In the past year, through our various publications, analyses and podcasts, instituDE has strived to shed light on Turkey; its domestic politics, economy, foreign policy and human rights situation. We have worked to provide valuable information and comments on Turkey for the foreign observers as well as the Turkish public. We put effort into raising awareness on the human rights violations and authoritarian practices in Turkey.