When selecting the person and event of the year for 2024 in both domestic and foreign policy, establishing the criteria is the challenging part – everything else falls into place naturally. My criterion was simple: impact on the overall political trajectory. Specifically, how an individual shaped the course of political developments in 2024, and which
When President Tayyip Erdoğan began reciting the opening verses of Surah Al-Fath in Arabic during his Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group meeting on December 25, amid chants of “Conqueror of Syria,” I wrote in my notebook “We’re going into Syria.” However, launching an operation against the PKK/YPG in Syria is one thing; conquest
Milking a cow constantly makes it hard to obtain sufficient and quality milk. Eventually, the cow becomes unwell and can no longer produce milk. The same goes for taxes. Extracting more taxes than citizens, businesses, and institutions can bear may lead to economic instability and injustice. Excessive tax burdens become unsustainable, especially for low-income groups
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced a sevenfold increase in the number of Syrian refugees voluntarily returning to their homeland in the last 15 days following the collapse of the 61-year-old Ba’ath regime in Syria and the flight of President Bashar al-Assad to Russia on December 8. Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), Minister Yerlikaya
Last weekend, journalist Nevşin Mengü faced investigation over an interview, leading to her detention and subsequent release under judicial supervision with a travel ban. This weekend, journalist Özlem Gürses was investigated for a verbal slip during a live broadcast, resulting in detention, handcuffing, house arrest, and a travel ban. Additionally, news outlet T-24 came under
While his loyal deputies of his oligarchic regime awaited an address from Bashar Assad, he reportedly fled to Moscow with his family. At the Doha press conference on December 8 when questioned about this, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s response was telling – rather than saying: “We don’t know,” he stated “I cannot comment, he’s
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that Türkiye has begun working on plans to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees, following major developments in Damascus where opposition forces have taken control of the capital and President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly left the country. Speaking at the Doha Forum 2024 in Qatar, Fidan outlined Türkiye’s vision
Defense Minister Yaşar Güler made significant statements about Türkiye’s armament program during his ministry’s 2025 budget defense at the Parliamentary Planning and Budget Commission on November 26. According to his statements, the United States, which had previously expelled Türkiye from the F-35 fighter jet program over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems, has apparently
The path to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was opened for senior Turkish diplomat Feridun Sinirlioğlu. On December 3, the OSCE Permanent Council, which convened in Vienna, unanimously decided to submit Sinirlioğlu’s position as Secretary-General for approval by the OSCE Foreign Ministers to be held on November 5-6 in Valetta, Malta.
Like many others, I have been watching Türkiye’s policies regarding immigrants, refugees, and foreigners, especially the citizenship process, with growing concern for a long time. The lack of transparency, ambiguous statistics, and the failure to clearly articulate the purpose of the pursued policies have transformed this process into one of the worst examples in the