Erdogan’s dream turns into a nightmare - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Yavuz Baydar

Yavuz Baydar

Dec 26, 2013

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media in Ankara, Dec. 25, 2013. — REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Turkey's outgoing Environment and City Planning Minister Erdogan Bayraktar talks during a handover ceremony in Ankara December 26, 2013. Turkey's opposition accused scandal-hit Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday of trying to rule via a secretive "deep state", after a cabinet reshuffle that would tighten controls on police already beleaguered by government-ordered purges. Bayraktar, one of the three cabinet members who quit on Wednesday over their sons' detention, broke ranks by urging the premier to

Erdogan’s ex-confidant Bayraktar: Will he speak?

Yasemin Çongar

Yasemin Çongar

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech at Cairo University after his meeting with the Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi during the first day of his two-day trip to Egypt, November 17, 2012. Erdogan, an outspoken of critic of Israel, praised Egypt's Islamist president Mursi on Saturday for recalling his ambassador from Tel Aviv in response to Israeli attacks on Gaza. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3AJ7X

Turkish corruption probe hurts foreign relations

Semih Idiz

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a ceremony in Ankara December 18, 2013. Scores of people including three ministers' sons, prominent businessmen close to Erdogan and local government officials were detained on Tuesday in the biggest corruption investigation since he swept to power in 2002. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16NF0

Erdogan caught off guard in latest political crisis

Yavuz Baydar

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a meeting of the ruling AK Party (AKP) in Ankara January 24, 2014. Turkey received a vote of confidence in its underlying economic health on Thursday, with foreign investors lapping up a $2.5 billion eurobond issue even as a corruption scandal swirled and the central bank intervened to prop up the lira. The graft investigation, one of the biggest threats to Erdogan's 11-year rule, has shaken Turkey in recent weeks, helping send the lira

AKP winning perception war

Pinar Tremblay