Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

July 31, 2026

Ankara 2:50 pm

24°C

A demonstrator carries a CHP flag during a protest in Izmir, Turkey, on May 24, 2026.

Explainer

What’s behind Turkey’s latest wave of arrests against opposition mayors?

The operations come as Ozgur Ozel’s newly formed party gains momentum.

A Saudi navy ship is pictured docked at King Faisal navy base in Jeddah before the departure of a team to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation efforts of people fleeing Sudan, on April 29, 2023.

Turkey, Pakistan among 14 countries backing Saudi Arabia's anti-Houthi Red Sea alliance

Riyadh won political backing from 14 countries for its proposed maritime defense coalition, but members have yet to commit to joining as Washington weighs its position.

Erdogan and Aoun

Turkey ready to participate in post-UNIFIL force in Lebanon, Erdogan tells Aoun

Aoun paid a one-day visit to Ankara amid Lebanon's push to secure an Israeli withdrawal and end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Latest News

Explainer

Erdogan hosts Zaidi, touts ‘historic step’ in Turkey-Iraq energy ties

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets Iraq Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi upon his arrival in Ankara, July 28, 2026.

Zaidi to meet Erdogan as Turkey-Iraq ties take off, Kurds feel sidelined

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (not pictured) at the Pentagon on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A Syrian refugee watches a television broadcast of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaking in Damascus, in their container at the Al-Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, January 6, 2013. Assad made his first public appearance in months on Sunday, calling for a "full national mobilisation" to fight against rebels he described as al Qaeda terrorists. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3C5EE

Sectarianism Dominates Mideast Media Coverage of Syria, Bahrain

A close look at Middle Eastern media reveals a sectarian bias for regional audiences and a more democratic face when broadcasting in English to the West.

A riot policeman uses a mobile phone to film protesters at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 22, 2013. Turkish riot police fired water cannon to clear thousands of protesters from Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday, the first such confrontation there in nearly a week. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10X89

Turkey’s AKP Mobilizes Twitter Army for Elections

The Justice and Development Party has acknowledged the need for a social-media strategy.

Turkish riot police are targeted with fireworks during a protest against a government project, the first ever cultural center containing an Alevi cemevi and a Sunni mosque side by side, in Tuzlucayir neighborhood of Ankara, on September 12, 2013 AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey’s Sunni-Alevi Fault Line

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s democratization package will need to dampen sectarian tensions.

Erdogan Promotes Democratization Package

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey's democratization package is a "silent revolution."

Turkey's New Prohibitions Lead To Underground Alcohol Market

Many Turks are finding ways around the new restrictions on the sale of alcohol.

A woman is attacked by water cannon during protests in Kizilay square in central Ankara, June 16, 2013. The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannon at stone-throwing protesters night after night in cities including Istanbul and Ankara, left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX10PPE

Women Protesters in Turkey Brave Sexual Harassment

The systematic sexual harassment of female Turkish protesters in custody is used as a weapon to deter them and marginalize the protest movement.

A boy wearing a Guy Fawkes mask displays his wooden sword behind a barricade at Gezi Park in central Istanbul June 12, 2013. Turkish riot police fought running battles with pockets of protesters overnight, clearing the central Istanbul square that has been the focus of nearly two weeks of protests against Turkey's prime minister. By dawn, Taksim Square, strewn with wreckage from bulldozed barricades, was largely deserted and taxis crossed it for the first time since the troubles started. Several hundred rem

How Happy Is the One Who Says 'I am a Turk'?

Turks seem to be content, but perhaps not all that happy.

Sawssan Abdelwahab, who fled Idlib in Syria, walks with her children outside the refugees camp near the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern city of Yayladagi February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR2XYH9

On Turkey-Syria Border, Despair Over War

Syrians in Antakya are pessimistic about the future.

Anti-government Alevi protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Istanbul June 23, 2013. The European Union is on the verge of scrapping a new round of membership talks with Turkey, a move that would further undermine Ankara's already slim hopes of joining the bloc and damage its relations with Brussels. Germany, the EU's biggest economic power, is blocking efforts to revive Turkey's EU membership bid, partly because of its handling of anti-government protests that have swept the country in the last

Is Syria War Additional Spark To Alevi Protests in Turkey?

The war in Syria and the fallout from the Gezi Park demonstrations may be revealing a fault line in Turkish politics.

Art Goes Indoors At Istanbul Biennial

Amid the continuing street protests in the city, the 13th Istanbul Biennial’s decision to withdraw from public spaces aims to make the demonstrations and their message more visible.

Anti-government Alevi protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Istanbul June 23, 2013. The European Union is on the verge of scrapping a new round of membership talks with Turkey, a move that would further undermine Ankara's already slim hopes of joining the bloc and damage its relations with Brussels. Germany, the EU's biggest economic power, is blocking efforts to revive Turkey's EU membership bid, partly because of its handling of anti-government protests that have swept the country in the last

Syria Crisis Prompts Turkey's New Openings to Its Alevis

Turkey’s new liberalization package for its largest religious minority is linked to Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as they answer questions from the media, following meetings regarding Syria, at a news conference in Geneva September 14, 2013. The United States and Russia have agreed on a proposal to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, Kerry said on Saturday after nearly three days of talks with Lavrov. REUTERS/Larry Downing (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13KRV

Obama’s Syria Policy Has Potential For Breakthrough on War

Al-Monitor’s analysis and coverage of US policy toward Syria.