Opinions - Turkey

İstanbul'da Deniz Unsuru, Adana'da NATO: Yeni Karargahlar Ne Anlama Geliyor?

İstanbul'da Deniz Unsuru, Adana'da NATO: Yeni Karargahlar Ne Anlama Geliyor?

by Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 1 April 2026
İstanbul’da Ukrayna operasyonları kapsamında Deniz Unsur Komutanlığı ve Adana’da Çok Uluslu NATO Karargahı kurulacağı yönündeki haberler kamuoyunda tartışmaya neden oldu. Türk halkı doğal olarak bölgede biri bitip öbürü başlayan savaşlara ülkenin sürüklenmesinden endişe ediyor.
Turkey’s Expanding Security Role in the Horn of Africa

Turkey’s Expanding Security Role in the Horn of Africa

by Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 16 March 2026
Turkey’s expanding role in the Horn of Africa is no longer limited to diplomacy or development assistance. It has become a security actor in the region’s civil wars. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are also taking more active positions in these conflicts.
Ankara Expects the Iranian Regime to Survive but Risks for Turkey Persist

Ankara Expects the Iranian Regime to Survive but Risks for Turkey Persist

by Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 5 March 2026
The Turkish government views the potential collapse of the Iranian regime as a harbinger of regional instability. Nonetheless, Ankara remains convinced that the Iranian regime will survive this ordeal, even after the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
Three Phases of Turkish-American Relations in Syria

Three Phases of Turkish-American Relations in Syria

by Haşim Tekineş, published on 20 February 2026
The Syrian civil war has had a major impact on relations between Turkey and the United States. Syria has created both areas of cooperation and sources of tension between the two countries. As interests and the regional balance of power shifted, the nature of the relationship also changed.
Why Turkey Chooses Continuity Over Change in Iran

Why Turkey Chooses Continuity Over Change in Iran

by Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 6 February 2026
Ankara has repeatedly made clear that it opposes a military intervention against Iran. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated again on February 5: “We are doing everything to prevent these tensions between the United States and Iran from driving the region into a new conflict and chaos. We clearly expressed our opposition to a military intervention in Iran.” To this end, the Turkish government has also formed a sort of ad hoc alignment with regional countries to lobby the Trump administration against war.
What the SDF’s Miscalculations Meant for Turkey and Syria

What the SDF’s Miscalculations Meant for Turkey and Syria

by Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 19 January 2026
The ceasefire signed on January 18 between Damascus and the SDF was not the product of prolonged bargaining or mutual compromise. It was imposed by developments on the ground that had already stripped the SDF of its bargaining power. As such, the ceasefire agreement formalizes the collapse of the March 10 deal and largely marks the end of the SDF’s ability to shape outcomes in Syria.

Reports - Turkey

Turkey's Vision For a New Syria

Turkey's Vision For a New Syria

by Mustafa Enes Esen, Haşim Tekineş, Mehmet Demirbaş and Servet Akman, published on 14 February 2026
This report analyzes Turkey’s vision for Syria following the fall of the Assad family and the rise of the HTS under the leadership of Ahmad al-Sharaa. In this regard, it focuses on the foreign actors that, alongside Turkey, now have the greatest ability to shape Syria’s future: namely the United States and Israel.
Electrifying Turkey's Roads: EV Adoption Scenarios & Their Impact on Oil Imports

Electrifying Turkey's Roads: EV Adoption Scenarios & Their Impact on Oil Imports

by Baki Kaya, Ömer Güler, Harun Güngör, and Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 10 September 2025
This study evaluates, through long-term projections to 2053, the potential impact of increased EV penetration on Turkey’s energy landscape. It provides a comparative assessment of how changes in the share of EVs within the total vehicle fleet, across several scenario frameworks, could influence fuel demand and petroleum import volumes. A second, closely related objective is to measure the scale of Turkey’s oil dependency in order to establish a basis for examining its policy implications.
Geopolitical Constraints of Turkey's Energy Hub Ambitions

Geopolitical Constraints of Turkey's Energy Hub Ambitions

by Mustafa Enes Esen, published on 8 July 2025
This study focuses on the geopolitical dimensions and constraints shaping Turkey’s ambition to become a natural gas hub. The emphasis is on Turkey’s diplomatic relations with key supplier countries, the political instability across the wider Middle East, and the limited capacity of neighboring states to produce and export gas reliably—factors that collectively can make or undermine Turkey’s hub ambitions.
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.
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.

Videos - Turkey

Yalçınkaya Kararı İçin Geri Sayım Başladı

September 13, 2023
by Hakan Kaplankaya, published on 13 October 2023
instituDE HukukGünlüğü'nün bu bölümünde Hakan Kaplankaya AİHM'in 26 Eylül 2023 tarihinde açıklaması beklenen Yalçınkaya kararına ilişkin beklentileri, olası sonuçlarını ve benzer davalarda yargılananların için genel af kapsamına alınma olasılığını ele aldı.

Kritik Soçi Görüşmesi

September 7, 2023
by Haşim Tekineş, published on 7 September 2023
Dış Gündem'de bu hafta instituDE üyesi Haşim Tekineş, Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'ın Rusya Devlet Başkanı Putin'e Soçi'de yaptığı ziyareti çeşitli boyutlarıyla analiz etti.

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.