Opinions - Turkey

Turkey’s Push to Form a Government in Iraq

Turkey’s Push to Form a Government in Iraq

by Enes Esen, published on 18 August 2022
Iraq has been going through a political stalemate since the parliamentary elections in October 2021. While followers of the Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada Al Sadr secured the most seats, he was not able to form a coalition government neither with other Shia political parties nor with the Sunnis and Kurds. In this context, Hakan Fidan, head of Turkey's National Intelligence Agency, paid an official visit to Iraq on September 11.
Fransa Dışişleri Bakanı’nın Ziyareti ve Avrupa’nın Türkiye’den Talepleri

Fransa Dışişleri Bakanı’nın Ziyareti ve Avrupa’nın Türkiye’den Talepleri

by Enes Esen, published on 11 September 2022
Fransa Dışişleri Bakanı Catherine Colonna 5-6 Eylül tarihlerinde Ankara ve Atina’yı kapsayan bir gezi gerçekleştirdi. Bakan Colonna’nın ziyaretinin gündem maddeleri arasında Rusya’ya yönelik uluslararası yaptırımların delinmesinde Türkiye’nin rolü ve Yunanistan’la yaşanan gerilimin sonlandırılması öne çıktı. Fransız Bakanın gerek Ankara gerek Atina ziyaretinin dikkat çekmeyen gündemi ise “Avrupa Siyasi Topluluğu" projesine Türkiye’nin katılımıydı.
Schengen Vize Başvurularında Ret Oranı Neden Yükseldi?

Schengen Vize Başvurularında Ret Oranı Neden Yükseldi?

by Enes Esen and İlham Atuş, published on 30 August 2022
Bugünlerde Türk vatandaşları, Avrupa Birliği’nin (AB) Schengen vize başvurularını reddetmesinden çokça şikayet ediyor. Sosyal medya, AB'nin başkonsolosluklarının vize başvurularını nasıl reddettiğine dair paylaşımlarla dolu. Birçok medya kuruluşu, vize alamaması nedeniyle Türk vatandaşlarının nasıl iş imkanı kaçırdığı, festivallere katılamadığı veya yaz tatiline gidemediğine dair haberler yayınlamaya başladı.
Why Does Turkey Have a Higher Refusal Rate for Schengen Visas?

Why Does Turkey Have a Higher Refusal Rate for Schengen Visas?

by Enes Esen and İlham Atuş, published on 25 August 2022
Nowadays, Turkish citizens loudly complain about the EU refusing their Schengen visa applications. Social media is replete with posts on their own experience of how EU consulates in Turkey rejected their applications. Several media outlets are increasingly covering the issue, sharing the stories of Turkish citizens who missed a job opportunity, a festival, or a summer vacation.
The Prospects for the Talks between Turkey and Syria

The Prospects for the Talks between Turkey and Syria

by Enes Esen, published on 19 August 2022
The issue of Syrian refugees is one of the leading problems in Turkey, according to supporters of every major political party in the country. The Turkish government, which faces a tight election prospect within a year, has been making statements to show that they are aware of the problem and are handling the issue of refugees. To this end, the negotiations between Turkey and Syria that have been underway for quite some time have apparently reached a certain point of development.
Why will Turkey participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit?

Why will Turkey participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit?

by Enes Esen, published on 15 August 2022
On his way back from Russia to Turkey on August 5, Erdogan announced that Russian President Putin personally invited him to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which will be held in Uzbekistan in September. He said he was planning to attend the summit to meet the leaders. Although Erdoğan expressed on several occasions his intentions to use the SCO as an important counterbalance against the West in the past, Turkey never actually took part in any SCO meeting before.

Reports - Turkey

TURKEY'S RARE ELEMENTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES - THE BEYLİKOVA CASE

TURKEY'S RARE ELEMENTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES - THE BEYLİKOVA CASE

by Mustafa Enes Esen, Ömer Güler, Harun Güngör and Dr. İmdat Öner, published on 21 May 2026
This report is addressed to two audiences simultaneously: Turkish policymakers weighing how to develop the Beylikova deposit, and Western governments and companies assessing whether Turkey is a credible partner in their supply chain diversification strategies. It examines both the opportunities Turkey’s entry into the rare earth sector could realistically generate and the structural obstacles that stand between the current situation and those outcomes.
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.

Videos - Turkey

BM'den AİHM'e Yusuf Bilge Tunç Uyarısı

August 23, 2024
By Hakan Kaplankaya and Haşim Tekineş, published on 23 August 2024
Bu yayınımızda Hakan Kaplankaya, Ağustos 2019'da kaçırılan ve kendisinden hala haber alınamayan KHK'lı Yusuf Bilge Tunç hakkındaki AİHM'in verdiği olayda ihlal olmadığı kararını, konuya ilişkin BM İnsan Hakları Komitesi'nin 19 Ağustos 2024'te verdiği kararı ele aldı.

Rusya İşgal Altında

August 16, 2024
by Ali Dinçer and Haşim Tekineş, published on 16 August 2024
Haftanın önemli uluslararası gündemlerinden Ukrayna'nın Rusya topraklarına girmesini, Gazze'de şiddetin devam edişini, ateşkes görüşmelerini, Biden'ın görevdeki son üç ayında Gazze savaşına dair adım atma olasılığı, Mahmut Abbas'ın Türkiye temasları ile ABD seçim sürecine dair son gelişmeleri ele aldılar.

Gazze ve İnstagram

August 10, 2024
by Haşim Tekineş, Ali Dinçer and Harun R. Halisoğlu, published on 18 August 2024
Ali Dinçer, Harun Reşit Halisoğlu ve Haşim Tekineş Türkiye'nin Uluslararası Adalet Divanı'nda görülen #Gazze soykırım davasına müdahil olmasını, #CHP'nin #Paris çıkarmasını, #İngiltere'de yaşanan sokak olaylarını ve Türkiye'de bu hafta getirilen #İnstagram yasağını ele aldılar.

Haftanın Ortası - Suikastler, Savaşlar ve Seçimler

August 1, 2024
by Ali Dinçer and Haşim Tekineş, published on 1 August 2024
Ali Dinçer ve Haşim Tekineş'in haftanın öne çıkan uluslararası gündemlerini ele aldıkları yeni yayınımızda, İsrail'in Hamas liderlerine yönelik suikast saldırıları, Erdoğan'ın İsrail'e yönelik açıklamaları, bölgesel savaş senaryoları ve ABD seçim sürecine ilişkin son gelişmeler değerlendirildi.

Trump Turkiye'ye Ne Yapar?

July 18, 2024
by Haşim Tekineş, published on 18 July 2024
ABD Başkanlık Seçimlerini kazanacağı tahmin edilen Trump'ın 2. dönemi beraberinde neler getirecek? instituDE dış politika analisti Haşim Tekineş yanıtladı.

Hakan Fidan'dan Çin'in Uygur Politikasına Destek

June 18, 2024
by Haşim Tekineş, published on 17 June 2024
#DışGündem'de instituDE Dış Politika Analisti Haşim Tekineş, #HakanFidan'ın 3-5 Haziran tarihlerinde #Çin ve #Uygur bölgesine yaptığı ziyareti çeşitli boyutlarıyle ele aldı.